On ‘In Tense,’ Bassist Harish Raghavan Drops Hypnotic & Edgy Thriller (ALBUM REVIEW)

New York-based composer and bassist Harish Raghavan, follows up his 2019 debut Calls For Action with this hypnotic, edgy all-original In Tense, recorded at the end of 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The album’s six tracks were written especially for his hand-picked band of most frequent collaborators, guitarist Charles Altura, Joel Ross on vibraphone and marimba, drummer Eric Harland,  and Morgan Guerin on woodwinds, each of whom is a bandleader and among the elite contemporary jazz musicians. You may be familiar with the bassist’s work as he has appeared on recordings and in performance with these impressive artists – Ambrose Akinmusire, Kurt Elling, Taylor Eigsti, Vijay Iyer, Charles Lloyd, Walter Smith III, Logan Richardson, and Eric Harland. He and Harland were the rhythm tandem for Charles Lloyd’s stirring set at Newport Jazz last year. 

The instrumentation is a bit unusual, setting up some intriguing harmonics. The opening track “AMA” is ethereal and calm, befitting that hazy mind wandering that characterized the pandemic stay-at-home state. The leader breaks through with a driving bass solo over the pulsating groove in the mid-section. We immediately know we are in for an intriguing, spacey, and rewarding listen. The energy ratchets up with “Circus Music,” as Ross, Altura, and Guerin play in unison before to driving rhythms from Raghavan and Harland before we hear extended solos from Ross, followed by a vigorous exchange between Guerin on tenor and Altura on guitar, depicting the need to adapt to turbulent times. The music paints a picture of walking the tight rope at a circus looking for a safe landing.

The title track, moves slowly but with purpose, much like the opener, a fitting ode to the confusion of the locked-down feeling. While Ross’ and Guerin’s notes seem rather suspended, the leader’s bass and Harland’s insistent beats seem to be the only instruments conveying motion. As it unfolds Ross and Altura become more engaged, showering flowing notes to build the drama until it reverts to the plodding, opening themes as it goes out. “Eight-Thirteen” also carries its share of mystery. The track name comes from the time exactly a minute before Raghavan’s son was born. Altura and Ross first build a series of notes, akin to a giant staircase before the vibraphonist weighs in with shimmering patterns, accented by Harland’s shifty work on the kit. Altura and Raghavan have a lively exchange before the composition slows down tantalizingly for a moment, signaling the precise moment before everything changes.

“S2020” continues the spacey, heady journey, first featuring Altura as Ross goes into comp mode. Altura then engages in a synth guitar exchange with Guerin on presumably what he refers to as the electric wind instrument, the two so closely linked that it becomes hard to differentiate the sounds. Meanwhile, Harland and Raghavan stir up a whirlwind of activity that Ross demolishes with his whiplash mallet attack. The closer “Prayer” plays to a faster tempo than one would expect, not to suggest it swings. (that’s not what this unit is about in this outing).  The composition does feature yet again stirring dialogue between Altura and Guerin (again in electric mode), a rumbling drum-bass sequence, and tricky start-stop rhythm patterns. Ross eventually joins the fray and for a few minutes all hell is breaking loose just as Raghavan intended as he says, “there’s a part of it where it gets a little free and kind of mellow, then it’s like you’re at war for a moment.” It was written as a prayer before one goes into battle. 

True to its title, the album, hypnotic in places, is ultimately dramatic. That title can be taken another way too. In fact, for Raghavan, it means trying to stay present and in the moment. Either way, it’s captivating and full of unpredictable turns.

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