Christopher Hoffman in Best Jazz on Bandcamp - March 2024

Awesome to see Christopher Hoffman - Vision Is The Identity in Best Jazz on Bandcamp, March 2024! Big thanks to Dave Sumner for this great review.

Change is the guiding force of this month’s selections. That’s not a particularly novel characteristic in the grand scheme of the modern jazz scene, as it seems like every new month is the next stage of the music’s evolution. But in the context of this particular column, there’s meaning to be drawn from the observation. Nearly all of the inclusions are from musicians whose current recording is a departure from what came before. In some instances, it’s a small change and, perhaps, even foreseen. For others, it’s out of the blue. Not sure I would have it any other way.

Based on Christopher Hoffman’s established association with Henry Threadgill’s Zooid, as well as the cellist’s bird-of-a-feather 2021 release Asp Nimbus, listeners might understandably have certain expectations of the way Vision is the Identity would sound. Hoffman would like to have a word with those expectations. The cellist’s latest steamrolls all of them with a strong electronic music influence and a focused, driven, rhythmic attitude. Melodically, the ensemble throws out some feints and misdirects, but more often than not, it lands right near the spot it had pointed to at the outset. Hoffman’s core is a trio with keyboardist Frank LoCrasto and drummer Bill Campbell, but adds some nifty guest appearances by Henry Threadgill, Anna Webber, Ryan Scott, and Alfredo Colón (on wind instruments, guitar, and EWI respectively).