Craig Taborn "Light Made Lighter"

Another record I haven't listened to in forever but used to love: Craig Taborn's Light Made Lighter (Thirsty Ear, 2001). Shocking that this is the first Thirsty Ear record I've posted on here considering my love for the label and Blue Series mastermind Matthew Shipp. Promise to correct that in the coming weeks.

Light finds Taborn teamed with drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist Chris Lightcap. "Crocodile" and "Whiskey Warm" are shared here. On the former, Lightcap keeps a halftime groove behind Cleaver and Taborn's hurried rhythms, the drummer and pianist locked in a duel and pushing to higher levels of intensity with each passing meter. "Whiskey Warm" finds Taborn hammering away at the piano, playing chunky, fat chords, his densely layered note structures creating a Coltrane-esque "wall of sound."



1. bodies we came out of (part 1)
2. st. ride
3. I cover the waterfront
4. crocodile
5. light made lighter
6. whisky warm
7. morning creatures
8. st. rangelhold
9. american landscape;
10. light made lighter (piano)
11. bodies we came out of (part 2)

Here's a cool New York Times show review from a 2009 performance.
Video of Taborn performing with Dave King @ the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.
Review of Light Made Lighter from All About Jazz by Nils Jacobson.