Matt Ulery: Delicate Charms Live at the Green Mill
Woolgathering Records

This sophomore release by Matt Ulery's Delicate Charms has the distinction of being the Chicago bassist's first live recording. Yet no matter how different the projects might be within his wide-ranging discography, one thing in particular unites them: Ulery's voice as a composer. Every piece he writes bears his unmistakable signature, whether it be material written for an orchestral art song context, jazz trio, or large ensemble. Issued on his Woolgathering Records label, Live at the Green Mill comes vividly to life when the bassist's joined by sympathetic partners pianist Paul Bedal, drummer Quin Kirchner, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, and trumpeter James Davis. As is typically the case with an Ulery unit, the compositions he's provided function as both glue and lubricant: a given piece's themes establish a solid structural core and identity while also allowing room for the musicians to impose their personalities. There are changes in personnel from 2019's first Delicate Charms disc to the second, with violinist Zack Brock and pianist Rob Clearfield replaced by Davis and Bedal.

The performances were captured across two nights at Chicago's Green Mill last April and May. As “That Hideous Strength” resoundingly illustrates, the palpable energy of the band and the crowd's enthusiastic reception testify to the joy all experienced to again gather for an evening of live music. With sound mixing handled by the club's proprietor Dave Jemilo, the band played six evening sets on both nights. The pieces on the release aren't, of course, standard blowing exercises. On the contrary, Ulery fashioned them to be full-fledged compositions that integrate improvisation into their design; his likening of the compositions to chamber music makes sense in that regard. Form extends through the pieces, such that shifts in mood and dynamics arise fluidly, and players of exceptional ability are needed to both execute the charts faithfully and capitalize on the solo opportunities as they appear.

Ulery's sensibility asserts itself the moment “We Are Just at the Limit” begins the album with lustrous unison playing by the horns, Kirchner ornamenting them with flowing ride patterns and cymbal crashes, and Bedal and Ulery instating a stable nucleus at the centre. Alternating between restrained and boisterous moments, the players thoughtfully navigate the detailed trajectory of Ulery's composition. The second cut, “Oceans Away,” is memorable for a bluesy, dirge-like theme that surfaces throughout its eleven-minute run and interactions between the players. Such length grants Ward, Davis, and Ulery the luxury of building their solos methodically and mixing high-velocity runs with emphatic statements and ponderous ruminations. Three minutes longer and with Kirchner powering the band ferociously, “The Arrival” allows the players even more time to dig into the material and unleash blistering solos. With a title like “Undertow,” it's natural that its tone should tend towards balladry, but the performance is as vital, especially when elevated by Ward's keening solo, as anything else on the release. Though Ulery's largely content to anchor the quintet, the last piece, “Consumer of Time,” sees him setting the scene with an unaccompanied intro before Davis and Ward weigh in with their own powerful statements.

January 2022