Massive Threads

Canadian-born pianist and composer Kris Davis is highly regarded by fellow musicians and followers of New York’s jazz scene. She’s a member of the intriguing trio Paradoxical Frog (which also includes tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tyshawn Sorey) and has recorded several albums of her own, including 2011’s Aeriol Piano, where she appeared alone at the keyboard. 2013’s Massive Threads, her second solo effort, is excellent. These pieces clearly have links to both late 20th-century classical composition and non-idiomatic improvisation. “Ten Exorcists” opens the album with an insistent torrent of often-dampened tones, which evoke minimalism and emphasize the percussive side of the piano. The title cut moves energetically from the upper to lower registers; later, heavy block chords sound out before the track comes to a quiet end. The only non-original here is a version of Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence,” where chords are often suddenly cut off. “Leaf-Like” is marked by jabbing, stop-start lines, while the spare closer, “Slow Growing,” hovers at the mysterious edge where tonality and atonality meet.