Variance by Elliott Sharp Aggregat

Aggregat is an ongoing project of composer/multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp and is manifest on this album as a trio featuring bassist Brandon Lopez and drummer Don McKenzie in a set of mostly-improvised pieces that rely on the real-time decision-making and virtuosic spontaneous expressivity of all three participants. Variance was recorded in concert at the Jazz Gallery in Manhattan in February 2022 as the final event in a year-long series of concerts and recordings initiated by E# in March 2021 to observe his 70th voyage around the sun.

With his improvising trio Aggregat, E# on saxophones and bass clarinet reveals a deep familiarity with jazz history and practice but also dives deep into a futuristic approach. The Aggregat rhythm section of Brandon Lopez on bass and Don McKenzie on drums is powerful and supple with sounds ranging from solid swing to skittering high-velocity textures.