LOCAL TALENT: Higienópolis
Project Whatever Records

At a glance, LOCAL TALENT could be taken for a standard piano jazz trio; a few details, however, suggest otherwise. For one, Rich Brown plays electric bass rather than the customary acoustic, and bandleader James Hill (aka projectwhatever) is credited with piano but also keyboards, which the adopted Torontonian integrates extensively into the album's arrangements. As importantly, the group's sound is jazz-connected but hardly defined by it; if anything, the material performed by Hill, Brown, and drummer Ian Wright exemplifies elements of melodic pop, ambient, electronica, and even a tiny hint of prog. While an occasional solo emerges to establish a link to jazz's improv tradition, such moments are rare, the trio instead executing formally delineated song structures for the most part.

Hill's made a bit of a name for himself as a member of BADBADNOTGOOD and Autobahn Trio; Wright also plays in the latter, whereas Brown's performed with Steve Lehman, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and others. As a name, LOCAL TALENT's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it also accentuates the fact that artistic talent thrives no matter where you are on the planet, Toronto no exception. The album title? It refers to a neighbourhood in São Paulo where Hill stayed during a Brazil visit and where the majority of the seven pieces were written. The pianist found himself captivated by the locale's plethora of talent, musical and otherwise, and was inspired to pursue the directions documented on the thirty-five-minute release.

The title track introduces the album with a piano melody Vince Guaraldi might have written, which Wright augments with a martial snare pattern and Hill elaborates on with ambient synth atmospherics and a metronomic piano line. A third of the way through, things take a bass-thudding turn before the now synth-showered material gives way to a breezy piano solo, itself drenched in ride cymbals and synth textures. A lot's packed into six minutes, in other words, with Hill and company favouring a rapidly shifting presentation that never fails to engage. As mentioned, soloing isn't absent, but the greater focal points are through-composition and arrangement. It's not the only time either that a tune shape-shifts during its run, the tendency a recurring move on the recording. Certainly another distinguishing aspect of the release is its range of keyboard textures, with Hill adding considerably to acoustic piano throughout.

After solo piano lends the lyrical opening of “The Silent”classical character, radiant synth swirls and a downtempo groove nudge the material in another direction, this one subtly influenced by hip-hop and prog. Consistent with its title, “Sailing at Night” unfurls as a dreamy ambient reverie whose synth sparkle evokes glistening, star-filled skies. Electric piano likewise moves the trio's sound into another place for “Tundra,” though Hill's appetite for atmospheric textures ensures a through-line remains in place from the preceding cuts. The tune's tough vibe comes not just from the keyboard but the controlled thunder his partners generate alongside him.

January 2020