Illuminescence by Hearts & Minds

On their upcoming album, Hearts & Minds — the congenial Cerberus comprising bass clarinetist Jason Stein, keyboardist Paul Giallorenzo, and drummer Chad Taylor — cuts a deceptively simple profile, but one that encompasses surprising depth within their groove-based compositions. As on their previous album, 'Electroradiance'
(Astral Spirits, 2018), the music distills the electro-acoustic textures of 1970s fusion to frame improvisational flights informed by Chicago’s rich avant-garde history.

It’s an approach that subtly echoes that of onetime Chicagoan Sun Ra, whose 2024 centennial reawakened listeners to his pioneering fusion of electronics, avant-garde improvisation, and Afrocentric beats. On 'Illuminescence', the band continues (in Giallorenzo’s words) “to explore the fertile ground between grooves and noise/energy.” But here the tracks are shorter, and the compositions even catchier, as the band polish and hone their concept to, says Giallorenzo, “create a more concise statement amid rhythmic motion and simultaneous interplay.”

Several tracks crystallize this strategy. The aptly named “Turbulence” begins with Giallorenzo’s broken-arpeggiated synth bass, quickly doubled by Stein, over Taylor’s fulminating drum work; within 75 seconds, though, it gives way to a freely improvised dialog between bass clarinet and drums, with electric-piano kibitzing from the side.
And then, 90 seconds later, you’re humming along as they reprise the infectious opening theme. That’s a fair bit of territory to cover in less than five minutes, and it encapsulates the sound and occasional fury of Hearts & Minds.

Giallorenzo wrote “Turbulence” and four of the other nine tracks; each reflects his interest in uncomplicated melodies that lend themselves to irresistible vamps embraced by Taylor’s uncluttered yet imaginative stickwork. Stein wrote two others, including the album opener, “Counterpoint,” the title of which slyly suggests some two-part invention between keys and bass clarinet; instead, the melody instruments play one melody in unison, with Taylor’s roiling churn providing the counter line. Three more compositions credit the whole band as co-writers; but in a way, that credit can apply to the entire album, which reveals the trio’s collaborative synergy from start to finish.

Stein and Giallorenzo first met as sixth-grade classmates in Rockville Centre on Long Island. Giallorenzo attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL; Stein, studying at University of Michigan, traveled frequently to Chicago before graduation, then moved there in the early 2000s. Each settled quickly into the city’s burgeoning jazz/new-music environment. They reunited in a duo precursor to Hearts & Minds in 2003; drummer Frank Rosaly made it a trio in 2005. When Rosaly moved to the Netherlands in 2016, Chicago-born drummer Chad Taylor moved into the drum seat.