Ben Goldberg: Everything Happens to Be.
BAG Production

For Everything Happens to Be., clarinetist Ben Goldberg convened tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin and, ostensibly, Thumbscrew—guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara. Before the pandemic hit, Goldberg was spending a lot of time in New York and playing with some of its young lions, among them Halvorson and Fujiwara, with whom he fashioned the improv trio The Out Louds. Goldberg's relationships with the others extend further back, with Eskelin part of the clarinetist's 2013 release Unfold Ordinary Mind and Formanek an ongoing partner over the years. Of course the bassist's connection to Halvorson and Fujiwara in Thumbscrew and Halvorson's Code-Girl made him a natural choice for Goldberg's project.

As enticing as the release is on personnel grounds, as noteworthy is the character of the material. Its grounding in the chorale stems from a gift he received from Charles Burnham, an Eb Albert System clarinet that in Goldberg's view proved ideal for folk tunes and hymns (he also plays Bb and Contra Alto clarinets on the date). That in turn prompted a desire to tackle William Monk's “Abide With Me” (the sole Goldberg non-original on the release) and infuse the rest of the album with other chorale-inflected tunes. Whereas the theme's referenced directly via “Chorale Type,” other titles such as “To-Ron-To” and “Tomas Plays the Drums” emphasize the project's playful side.

The word chorale not only refers to a hymn-like setting but also a gathering of singers giving voice to church music, and in that regard Goldberg's album is consistent with the concept in its performance approach. In place of demarcated roles of soloist and support, the musicians in his quintet play less restrictedly. As I listen to Everything Happens to Be., I'm reminded of Paul Motian's groups, the one he assembled for the third volume in his On Broadway series in particular. On it, the saxophones of Lee Konitz and Joe Lovano gloriously intertwine alongside the playing of Bill Frisell, Charlie Haden, and the leader, and it's worth noting that Goldberg uses two woodwinds, guitar, bass, and drums on his own set (interestingly, Goldberg studied with Lovano, as well as Steve Lacy).

In keeping with the solace the chorale brings, Goldberg's album features relaxed, nostalgia-laden pieces that in a couple of places echo oft-covered standards; “Cold Weather,” for example, could pass for a treatment of “I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance,” “Stormy Weather,” or some such thing, and it's a compliment to Goldberg that his newly minted pieces play like those with long histories behind them. “Fred Hampton” roots itself in a dreamy folk motif that suggests the reverie could have been written a century ago, and it's hardly a coincidence that the album title riffs on “Everything Happens to Me,” as beloved a standard as there is. That said, there's nothing old-fashioned about what Goldberg and company are doing here.

That relaxed, Motian-like feel informs the floating polyphony of “What About” when the woodwinds coil sinuously against a mutating backdrop of brushed drums, acoustic bass, and Halvorson's signature melting chords. A loose, explorative sensibility animates the performance, which carries through into the other nine pieces. Though both are bluesy, the jauntiness of “To-Ron-To” distances it from the muscularity of “21,” and a heartfelt woodwinds-and-guitar rendering of “Abide With Me” ends the album on a lovely note.

June 2021