Midweek pick, October 31st, 2024: Goldberg, Sickafoose and Amendola's Monk bridges

Ben Goldberg, Todd Sickafoose & Scott Amendola: Here to There (Secret Hatch Records)

Ben Goldberg: clarinet
Todd Sickafoose: acoustic bass
Scott Amendola: drums, electronics

I came across a post on Threads earlier today — one of those annoying “bold” statement posts aimed at getting a reaction of any kind — claiming that the bridge is the best part of any song. I’m not going to discuss the veracity of that claim, but it did put me in the mind of the trio of clarinetist Ben Goldberg, double bassist Todd Sickafoose and drummer Scott Amendola (who also uses electronics), who use bridges from compositions by Thelonious Monk as inspirations for new explorations. As on the album Here to There, released last week.

It’s up front on the opener “In Walked”, which, as the title implies, uses “In Walked Bud” as its starting point, and also evident quite early on “Sad Trophy”, on which they spiral off from the melodic motif of “Epistrphy”. In the case of both of these instances, as well as on nine other others pieces here, there is an intriguing spaciousness and looseness to the music. Both in slower tempos, as on the spooky “Self Evident” (“Evidence”, anyone?), but also when they speed things up, such as on versions 9 and 2 of “Porch Concert Material.” The production is also wonderful, aiding to roomy atmosphere.