In 2012, New York-based jazz duo
Swami LatePlate issued the digital-only
Doom Jazz on
Veal Records, a sensual, dirgy seven-track collection composed and recorded by pianist
Jamie Saft and drummer/percussionist
Bobby Previte. Their m.o. offered darkly tinged, noirish jazz compositions with aesthetics adopted from doom metal. It was issued physically in 2021. Three years later, the pair reunite for
Doom Jazz II: Deception. While the molasses-like tempos remain, the duo's music has evolved. These three lengthy compositions, which run just under 40 minutes, offer muscular dynamics amid layered production textures, embracing tenets from ambient music, prog, jazz improvisation, psychedelia, and more. Opener "The New Friend" commences with an electronic drone, a sampled piano vamp, and a vintage Yamaha FS300 organ in a constantly repeating progression that recalls the early '70s minimalism of
Philip Glass. As the cascading piano circles constantly,
Previte adds sensitive, graceful cymbal work; an economical, shuffling snare, and kick drum. He increases the drama exponentially with foreboding, amid plodding tempos and
Saft's melodic improvising. The Yamaha appears again on "Everybody Is Aware" as its central instrument. The chord vamp seemingly breathes as pillowy sounds and basslines wind into the mix, creating a truly blissed-out sonic atmosphere. Halfway through,
Previte's kit showcases a stark difference between
Swami LatePlate's sound and that of doom metal: the drums here are bright throughout, almost crystalline. They create and carry tempos, sure, but more, they underscore harmonic and textural dimensions in the compositions.
Saft adds gorgeous lyrical asides from the instrument's upper register above key-bass drones and vamps.
Previte's improvisation becomes abstract as distorted chord loops roil above resonant tom-toms. As
Saft accentuates the chordal pulse,
Previte gets more active, upping the tempo and adding eighth notes to his pattern.
Saft lays in a fleet, arpeggiated multi-note pattern, introducing a crescendo that never quite emerges. Later, he delivers a solo progression worthy of
Domenico Scarlatti, using harpsichord and piano keys on the Yamaha above hyperkinetic, syncopated tom-tom and snare work.
Saft performs the 15-minute closing title track on a Hammond B-3 organ. Its first four minutes are a deep, bluesy, slow, soul jazz solo.
Saft's canny accents and fills are housed in filthy, distorted chords.
Previte enters with a muted hi-hat. A kick drum creates a syncopated pulse, and eventually his entire kit flows behind the B-3, creating a constantly changing though subtly shifting sonic backdrop.
Saft increases the drama with spiky dynamics, improvising to
Previte underscoring the core blues shuffle. It allows
Saft freedom to explore the Hammond's vast tonal possibilities with a blues focus that gets stretched exponentially via sophisticated jazz improvisation.
Doom Jazz II: Deception offers a wealth of creative possibilities structured and improvised for listeners. Here, the music is rendered for the purpose of adventure, not to emulate or speculate on it. These grooves are deep, the sounds are vast, and the playing throughout is excellent. ~ Thom Jurek
