Kind Folk: Head Towards the Center
Fresh Sound New Talent

Listening to Head Towards the Center, I'm hearing Kind Folk as something of a contemporary variation on Old and New Dreams, the classic outfit comprising Ornette alumni Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, and Ed Blackwell. It's not because their modern-day counterparts Noam Wiesenberg (bass), John Raymond (trumpet/flugelhorn), Alex LoRe (alto saxophone), and Colin Stranahan (drums) in any direct way pattern themselves individually or collectively after the earlier band; it's more because the balance between the four and the fluidity of their interactions plays like a continuation of the approach adopted by their precursors. Interestingly, the set-list for Kind Folk's 2018 debut Why Not coupled originals with treatments of material by Kenny Wheeler and … Charlie Haden.

The momentum generated by that well-received debut was, however, arrested by a series of developments. The possibility of live performance was derailed by the pandemic, and personal circumstances arose that sent some members in different directions. Still, what the four had accomplished with Why Not was deemed too valuable to lose, and steps were taken to push ahead. The four reunited in Wiesenberg's Brooklyn apartment for two intense days to learn material—five originals, two improvs, and covers of Kurt Rosenwinkel's “Mr. Hope” and Elliott Smith's “Between the Bars”—before entering the studio in June 2021 for a one-day session. The rapport reinstated itself quickly, however, so much so that the fully improvised pieces, “Where Am I?” and “Distant Signal,” laid down towards the end of the recording session, sound surprisingly close in spirit to the formally composed pieces.

Consistent with its title, the groggy scene-setter “Where Am I?” feels like the band awakening before the album proper takes flight with Raymond's “Power Fall,” its dramatic thrust powered by the bassist's ostinato pulse, Stranahan's deft colourations and cymbal splashes, and expressions by the horns as sinuous as they are declamatory. LoRe takes the first solo, his a smooth and serpentine affair that Raymond complements with a lithe, registers-spanning statement. Kind Folk's propensity for chamber-like execution emerges in Wiesenberg's brooding “Mantrois,” Raymond's flugelhorn an effective unison partner to LoRe's alto and counterpoint to the bassist's bowing and the drummer's flourishes. Raymond's flugelhorn also distinguishes his own “Sweet Spot,” an aptly titled ballad-styled setting whose sultry lyricism brings out the best in all the players.

Speaking of Haden, it's easy to imagine hearing his influence in Wiesenberg's attack during LoRe's “Around, Forever,” the performance an excellent illustration of the democratic balance between the members; the invention of Stranahan's commentaries isn't far removed from Blackwell's either. Carrying the Old and New Dreams analogy further, Rosenwinkel's “Mr. Hope” documents the swinging side of the band, with Raymond delivering a concise Cherry-esque statement and LoRe matching it for acrobatic flamboyance. Kind Folk's take on Smith's “Between the Bars” honours the late singer-songwriter with a sensitive collective expression and heartfelt horn expressions voiced concurrently.

However much its Basquiat-meets-Twombly cover artwork—created by Raymond's seven-year-old daughter, no less—might suggest the music will be an exercise in abstraction, Head Towards the Center fits snugly within jazz tradition though is no less satisfying for doing so. Admittedly there's nothing radical about the group's sax-trumpet-bass-and-drums format, it having established itself long before Kind Folk's formation; what is noteworthy is how evenly roles are distributed. While the horns naturally shoulder the melodic load, all four personalities are equally integral to the band identity, and it's this more than anything else that argues on behalf of Kind Folk as a creative proposition. In titling the sophomore set Head Towards the Center, the four seemingly acknowledge how critical it is for individual energies to be pooled in order for collective creativity to blossom. They come from different places—Raymond born and raised in Minnesota, LoRe a Florida native, Wiesenberg Israel born, and Stranahan a native of Denver, Colorado—yet speak their shared language with undeniably fluency.

June 2022