Tom Abbs & Frequency Response - Hawthorne

As someone who has played on over 50 recordings so far, jazz composer, filmmaker, and multi-instrumentalist Tom Abbs still remains a name that is mostly known to connoisseurs of modern jazz and new composition. Hopefully, Hawthorne, his most recent album under the moniker Frequency Response with a shifting cast of musicians and released in September 2018 will widen that circle.

The story behind the album itself in many ways defines the music presented on Hawthorne, the fourth album in his ongoing Frequency Response series. It took him nine years to come up with this album (Lost and Found, the previous one, was released in 2009) and is presented in a quartet format, with the Chicago Underground member Chad Taylor on drums, Jean Cook (Beauty Pill) on violin and Brian Settles (The Hook Up) on tenor saxophone with Abbs holding the duties on bass, tuba, cello, and piano. The quartet is also joined by Jenna Barvitski, violin, and Jason Chandler, alto sax, bass clarinet on a couple of compositions.

Named after a Brooklyn neighborhood in which he lived at the time, the original idea was to present the album right after the previous Frequency Response release, Abbs shelved the initial recordings, only to salvage them and present them as a snapshot of life scenes that influenced the music.

As a man of obviously many talents (he was also the general manager of the avant-garde label ESP Discs), Abbs covers a lot of thematic and musical ground, stretching the capabilities of the quartet format. Whether it is the souped-up swing of “Quarter,” or the old-time folk variations of “Regret,” or recalling of the seminal Albert Ayler/ Art Ensemble of Chicago free/spiritual jazz recordings of “Turmoil,” Abbs and his collaborators show immaculate musicianship and sense of progression that makes even the more ‘difficult’ musical passages easy on any set of ears.

The Brooklyn multicultural background is vividly covered by funky Afrobeats of “Travel” and “Binding”, currently much in vogue after the mainstream success of jazz artist like Kamasi Washington, while the personal moments and life’s twists and turns are reflected in compositions like Cecil Taylor-inspired “Seeking,” and “Collide,” covering the life situations that have left a deep imprint on Abbs’ life, like the loss of his family and his kidney donation to painter M.P. Landis. Abbs’ filmmaking experience filters into the music throughout the album (like on “Binding”), tying with ease the more melodic threads with free jazz improvisation sequences.

What is particularly impressive is that Abbs and this version of Frequency Response were able to incorporate all the musical variations into a seamless whole. The listener is never jarred in his enjoyment when a running folk theme, for example, suddenly transforms into a free improvisation and then drifts into a classical music structure.

The joys, but also the pitfalls and drama of living in a place like New York have obviously left a lasting impression on Abbs and his music, and Hawthorne is an album that not only contains some exquisite music that transcends quite a few musical genres, but also presents a vivid image of all trials and tribulations Abbs went through.

Quite possibly, that is one of the reasons that, after recording Hawthorne, Abbs has decided to move to the Catskill Mountains where he built Birdwatcher Studios and found his own Northern Spy Records. The move out of the city has not prevented him from, along with making his own music, to also be part of Andre Lamb Trio, Hungry March Band, and The Icebergs. Certainly, even after 50 or so albums, he participates on, we can expect more music from Tom Abbs. Hopefully, it will match the quality of Hawthorne.