Sharp contrasts, wild turns, and stylistic leaps rang out at Calderwood Hall on Sunday. In a program of composer John Zorn’s music, including two world premieres, the Junction Trio masterfully handled these frenetic, dense, and evocative works, barely breaking a sweat.
In Philosophical Investigations I, Zorn’s first collaboration with the trio (2022), pointillistic textures, jazzy chords, and frenetic grooves smashed together, colliding and spinning out, creating a frantic, exciting atmosphere. Motivic ideas—ranging from Jazzy licks to Boulez-like tone-rows—were fragmented, returning in pieces, before disintegrating further. Pianist Conrad Tao especially shone here, his emotive performance style and technical precision making quick work of these bipolar dynamic and textural changes.
Despite Zorn’s fragmented treatment of material, this work felt like a complete statement due to its clearly legible form. Large repeating sections created a welcome sense of organization in a near sonata-form-like recapitulation. As a first-time Zorn listener, his strong sense of form struck me most. Though working with wildly idiosyncratic styles, he clearly composes from a structured set of ideas, organizing them into a coherent structural—if not moment-to-moment—unity.
Philosophical Investigations II used many of the same compositional techniques. The shock of the continuous, wild textural changes that characterized the previous piece did wane for me, receding into the background to become just another of Zorn’s stylistic facets. He did innovate here on form, though. While Philosophical Investigations I was quite structurally clear, strict organization dissolved a bit in no.2. Compositional sections reappeared more fluidly, without as many rote repeats. If the first piece could be heard as a proof of concept for a string trio, Philosophical Investigations II showed more comfort with the genre. A stronger sense of lyricism prevailed as well, taking greater advantage of the ensemble’s sonorous capabilities. In addition, cellist Jay Campbell deftly handled several complex extended technique passages, including highly accurate harmonics, overpressure sounds, and microtonal glissandos.
Special guests, bassist George Roeder and drummer Ches Smith, joined in for I Am Your Labyrinth, adding their improvisatory skills to Zorn’s chaotic soundscapes. As a combination of the intuitive and composed, it made a striking showcase of distinct schools of musical virtuosity. Roeder’s bass added slick textures, glissando pizzicatos and bowed tremolos functioning as recurring motives. Smith’s drums skillfully leapt through complex switches in groove, mallet changes, and drum fills, using the full expressive range of his instrument. Unlike many pieces that use improvisors, I Am Your Labyrinth, took full advantage of all the players’ talents—the careful score interpretations of the classical players worked in concert with the moment-to-moment interaction of the improvisors.
A welcome stylistic change characterized But Doth Suffer a Sea-Change, (a fitting title), the trio downsizing to its core. While we again witnessed many moments of Zorn’s trademark bursts of energy an overall languid fluidity, that contrasted with the previous works, subsumed them. Baroque chorales, romantic melodies, and searing harmonics dominated the texture. Violinist Stefan Jackiw’s lyricism, coming to the forefront in Zorn’s lovely melodic lines, provided a respite from the preponderance of high harmonics and tremolos in his parts. A cello melody consisting entirely of artificial harmonics was the most striking moment, evoking a unique and emotional timbre. Overall, it allowed full scope for the Junction Trio’s expansive artistic range, quickly becoming my favorite of the afternoon.
Notes on the Assumption of Mystical Solidarity Approaching Nine Neological Approximations Illuminating the Eternal Return of the Same ended the afternoon with another highly unified musical statement. By far the shortest piece in the concert, it embraced speedy running figures for all players building continuously in dense, layered counterpoint, before skittering to the end. A clear sense of build, climax, and resolution resounded, in a satisfying and evocative closer.
The trio’s delightful realization of Zorn’s expansive catalogue of compositional references—daring stylistic leaps, and strong sense of structure―evoked every drop of expressive potential and dramatic intensity from these virtuosic works. Zorn could not have asked for a more perfect collaborative partner.