Snark Horse (feat. Kim Cass, Ben Gerstein, Jon Irabagon, Davy Lazar, Mat Maneri, Ava Mendoza, Matt Nelson, Brandon Seabrook)

Brooklyn-based pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Kate Gentile have developed a kind of twisted subdiscipline: a book of compositions just one measure long, to be used as springboards for much longer improvisations, all with a shape-shifting ensemble they informally call the Snark Horsekestra. Order and chaos are intertwined, as precise written segments and free-form episodes meet in a sonic fabric of great textural density and harmonic severity. Equal parts chamber-jazz ensemble and outsider rock band, Snark Horse finds Mitchell on piano and multiple synths along with an impressive cast that includes guitarist Ava Mendoza, guitarist/banjoist Brandon Seabrook, violist Mat Maneri, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, trombonist Ben Gerstein, bassist Kim Cass, and more. It’s Seabrook’s banjo, in fact, that emerges from the ooze of “Thumbly” to cue a central theme. Mitchell, on tracks like “Pheromone Quiz,” “Fertile Pinwheels,” and “All Tall Ghosts,” transforms bits of the recorded material into murky electronic musings, adding still more complexity to the affair.