Paul Silbergleit: The Stillness of July
Calligram Records

Quieter moments do often register as powerfully as louder ones—“Julia” and “Caroline, No” as much as “Back in the USSR” and “Wouldn't It Be Nice,” to cite two examples, and of course the principle applies to full albums too, whether it be Lady in Satin, In the Wee Small Hours, or Blue. All of which is a roundabout way of saying that as strong as the uptempo tracks on guitarist Paul Silbergleit's release are, it's the ballads that make The Stillness of July the outstanding collection it is. You'll be impressed by his trio's polished run-through of Charlie Parker's “Bongo Beep”; you'll be wholly transported, however, by the treatments he, bassist Clay Schaub, and drummer Devin Drobka give “Getting To Know You,” “With You,” and especially “Poinciana.” Resisting the swoon-inducing effect of the latter is futile when the trio's performance is so riveting.

A stalwart of Milwaukee's jazz scene, Silbergleit's appeared alongside renowned figures such as Benny Golson and Phil Woods and is on faculty at the Milwaukee Jazz Institute. Despite the fact that his unit with Schaub and Drobka first played together in the summer of 2014, The Stillness of July is Silbergleit's first trio recording. If the performances on the set, recorded across two June 2024 days at Milwaukee's Cloudland Recording, sound smooth, it's maybe because certain pieces have been in its working repertoire for years. The set-list augments three of the guitarist's originals with a solid mix of covers, from Parker and Stevie Wonder to Broadway. Silbergleit's a straight-ahead player of immense taste and discretion, and the years he's spent refining his attack shows in the authority of his playing.

The trio's handling of the material is effective when the chemistry the three have forged is evident at every turn. Here are individuals comfortable in one another's company and collectively engaged in performing at a high telepathic level. That unassuming character extends to instrumentation too: Drobka's kit set-up is minimal, Schaub hews to acoustic, and Silbergleit likewise sticks with a single axe. Each is thoroughly conversant with jazz tradition but not shackled by it. Riffing on the changes to “How Deep Is the Ocean,” Silbergleit's cheekily titled “How Shallow The Duck Pond” initiates the album with breezy swing, the guitarist spiritedly powering through the tune and his colleagues animating the performance tightly. Schaub confidently solos too, the leader comping alongside him expertly before trading fours with a brushes-wielding Drobka to set a high bar for what follows.

A welcome inclusion for its relative obscurity is Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly! tune “Ribbons Down My Back”; even more appealing is the sensitivity and nuance with which it's rendered—the first indication of the trio's talent for artful ballad expression. Inspired too is the selection of Wonder's “Summer Soft” in place of one of his better-known songs, and consistent with the trio's self-effacing bent, solos stray inventively—Silbergleit's particularly uproarious—without losing sight of the song's essence. One of the trio's frothier treatments, the song's also distinguished by a 7/8 recasting. On a lightly swinging take on “Getting To Know You” from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I, the trio gets soulful, bluesy, and even a little bit funky, the leader coming at the melody from multiple angles and strafing the groove with chords and riffs. It's the trio's treatment of Nat Simon and Buddy Bernier's “Poinciana” that's the brightest jewel in this crown, however. With the bassist and drummer's swaying, Latin-tinged pulse as a springboard, Silbergleit deepens the dreamy vibe with gauzy chords and locks in deeply with his partners. A lightly swinging groove grounds the performance, but the repeated interjection of two rhythmic switch-ups tickles the ears too. Using the most modest of means, the three sustain the music's intoxicating allure for a full nine minutes.

June 2026