People I Like

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EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 9   Total Length: 43:01

eMusic Review

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Kevin Whitehead

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Boston trio adds Dutch super-drummer and anarchist Han Bennink to the mix, with exciting results.
2007 | Label: Creative Nation Music / IODA

Boston's oddball reeds/guitar/piano trio Blueprint Project write pieces with clear, well-defined rhythmic contours, albeit knotty ones. (Monk's quirky timing is back there someplace.) They also have a distinctive way of weaving around each other, avoiding duplication of parts, making the most of skeletal instrumentation. That said, on record they often team up with guest rhythm players. For People I Like they add Dutch super-drummer and anarchist Han Bennink; their naming one tune "Herbie Nichols" (for the great '50s pianist and Dutch/Bennink favorite) is like putting out the welcome mat for him (Jared Sims's raucous clarinet and the track's sliding-downhill momentum make it a triple treat.) Han thrives in such rhythmically-charged environments, apt to reinforce a groove (the samba-lypso "Captain Salvy Sets Sail"), come up with a new one (hear the polyrhythmic churn midway through "The Holly Stomp") or energize more open material, like "Nu Moon at Yoshi's."

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They Say All Media Guide

The Blueprint Project began as a cutting-edge jazz trio, co-founded by pianist Tyson Rogers, multi-reed player Jared Sims, and guitarist Eric Hofbauer. For this album, they added special guest Han Bennink on drums, whose strong rhythmic feeling with an offbeat flavor gives the group just the spark it needs. Each of the three regulars contributes potent originals. Rogers’ quirky, angular “Herbie Nichols” captures the spirit of its namesake, a long deceased pianist/composer who is widely admired by musicians but still not well-known among jazz fans as a whole. “Ruby, I Think You’re My Third Favorite” is a loopy shuffle that has nothing to do with Thelonious Monk’s “Ruby, My Dear.” Hofbauer’s “The Holly Stomp” suggests the humor of the late Jaki Byard (featuring Sims’ sizzling alto), while his gritty, bluesy “Jac-Mac” showcases Sims on tenor. “Captain Salvy Sets Sail” is a spirited calypso that may be the most straight-ahead arrangement of the session. The dark “Chillfreemeistrodemus” opens with an eerie clarinet-piano duet, with Bennink and Hofbauer making an effective delayed entrance. Throughout the date, the musicians intuitively react to one another, keeping the music from becoming predictable. This enjoyable disc reveals new facets with each hearing. – Ken Dryden

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