Sam Pilnick's Nonet Project: The Adler Suite
Next Level

The inspiration for the first studio release from tenor saxophonist Sam Pilnick's Nonet Project will be long familiar to Chicago residents: the Adler Planetarium, founded in 1930 and dedicated to the study of astronomy and astrophysics. Acting as a chaperone for a 2017 school trip to the site, Pilnick, newly ensconced in the city, was immediately struck by the building's art deco design and then the exhibits within. As he read about various spacecrafts, planets, and the solar system, a musical concept began forming that would eventually materialize into a nine-part suite, the conceit being a trip to outer space and back.

To realize his vision, Pilnick recruited an impressive cadre of Chicago-based musicians, some of who've made names for themselves with their own releases. Alto saxophonist Max Bessesen attracted attention for his 2020 debut album Trouble, while trumpeter Emily Kuhn's Sky Stories made an equally strong impression (Bessesen, by the way, appeared on that album's Helios tracks). Joining them are baritone saxophonist Ted Hogarth, trombonist Euan Edmonds, guitarist Ben Cruz, pianist Meghan Stagl, bassist Ben Dillinger, and drummer Matthew Smalligan. With nine instruments in play, The Adler Suite achieves the richness of a chamber jazz orchestra whilst still allowing room for individual expression.

The Adler Suite is, among other things, an eclectic release, a voyage in the conceptual sense but also one that ventures through a galaxy of styles. As it moves between bebop and the avant-garde, it's tempting to namecheck Pilnick's presumed inspirations. His awareness of jazz history runs deep, attributable in part to his studies at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam (where he earned his B. M. in Music Education and Jazz Studies) and Western Michigan University (where he acquired his Masters in Jazz Performance).

That The Adler Suite will explore adventurously is intimated when “Squawk Box” begins with Kuhn voicing the familiar theme from Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, the track title a reference to the one-way radio an astronaut's family uses to obtain updates about the launch and the piece itself capturing the floating quality of a spacecraft. Pilnick, who wrote and produced the album, demonstrates his ample skill as an arranger in the way the material progresses fluidly through ensemble passages and solo episodes, and luscious horn harmonies and sensitive contributions from Cruz, Smalligan, and the pianist help make the piece a solid scene-setter. Six songs later, the stately meditation “A Light Year” will impress as much for its polyphonic, horns-only arrangement.

“Star Launch” is a contrafact of “Star Eyes,” but it also plays like an homage to Miles's Birth of the Cool when a high-energy bop feel settles into place. The title's also apt for the star turn taken by Bessesen, whose soaring alto takes magnificent flight in the opening part of the high-velocity performance. Adding to the track's allure, the leader steps up with a dynamic solo of his own before the two engage in a robust series of exchanges. In “Revolving Twins,” Pilnick replicates the revolving motions of stars by using a looping bass figure, contrapuntal melodies, and a general sense of untethered drift. Instrument elements coil around one another in a way that effectively evokes a slow-motion swirl, and the band's aggressive attack advances its sound decades away from the bebop of “Star Launch.”

Pilnick gives his players wonderful moments to shine, Bessesen in “Star Launch” and Kuhn in the ballad-styled tribute to Venus “Silver Light.” Don't be surprised if you're reminded a little bit of those classic collaborations between Miles and Gil Evans when her trumpet emotes supplicatingly against the ensemble's enveloping backdrop. The leader doesn't deny himself featured moments either, however. “Constant Companion” is something of a showcase for him and Stagl, who complements his thoughtful extemporizations with restrained accompaniment. Elsewhere, Dillinger and Smalligan power “House of the Massive (Pismis-24)” with a muscular funk-rock groove that calls forth potent individual statements from Cruz, Bessesen, and Pilnick, and, referencing the Big Bang, “Expanding Universe” inhabits a heady zone that might have you thinking of Ornette's Broken Shadows period or an Art Ensemble of Chicago improv. That the release so confidently extends from bebop to freer forms of jazz testifies to its creator's range and breadth of interests.

July 2021