Rapid Croche

Chicago area bassist Jason Roebke's credentials include stints with saxophonist Andrew d'Angelo, clarinetist François Houle, and other modern jazz notables. The trio outing Rapid Croche highlights Roebke's sensitivity and laudable chops amid his generally insightful compositional skills. With the opener, titled "Please," the bassist and drummer Tim Daisy deliver a series of tumbling rhythmic passages in support of clarinetist Aram Shelton's disparate textures. Elsewhere, the band incorporates a tightly integrated approach, consisting of odd-metered pulses and dark harmonic overtures. Roebke and Shelton often counterbalance each other's lyricism in concert with pert unison choruses and a systematic manner of re-engineering various themes. At times, the band abides by an open-ended methodology but generally close the improvisational loop, witnessed on the piece titled "Whatever You Think Is Beautiful." It's not all about stoically preformed free jazz music, as they often demonstrate a propensity for laying down bottom-heavy grooves. Overall, Roebke and associates emerge as forward-thinking artists, although this relatively strong outing might serve as a harbinger for better things to come.