The Definition of a Toy [Pure DSD]

A stellar ensemble of players from Vancouver, New York, the Netherlands and Germany are on this captivating set of creative post-bop jazz, recorded in DSD.

For the album “The Definition Of A Toy”, composer-drummer Dylan van der Schyff summoned players from his home base of Vancouver, New York, the Netherlands and Germany. Some had performed together in prior projects, others had not. Planning the session was a big risk to undertake, and that level of risk-taking is evident in the structuring of the album. The opening track, “Trio No. 1”, is as far from a typical jazz album opening as can be imagined. Michael Moore’s clarinet flights, Mark Helias’ intuitive, shifting bass harmonies, and Dylan van der Schyff’s textural percussion accents set an adventurous tone for the entire album.

Except for a trumpet-bass duo track and an abstract feature for drums, piano and reeds, the pieces are full-flavored and remarkably consistent. Tight compositionally, they’re loose enough for individual expression. Van der Schyff is a model of restraint throughout, rhythmically guiding the tracks without turning up the volume. Turner impresses with muted echoes and sluicing tones on his own moderato “Queen of the Box Office”, while the pianist can switch from the off-centre dynamics he exhibits on Helias’ romp, “Broken” – which also has some liquid flutter-tonguing from Moore’s clarinet – to committed mainstream comping elsewhere. (...) Locking disparate component parts into a groove, the CD confirms van der Schyff’s talents as a top session organizer as well as a first-rate percussionist.

A summit meeting of major proportions, The Definition of a Toy features a roster of international talent. (...) Despite their diverse authorship, each piece finds sonic similarities with the others, and so a conceptual continuum is created; a mutual aesthetic that defines their sound. Rich, complex melodies alternate with free-form improvisation and tense atonal interjections. (...) An empathetic and enjoyable meeting between five masters, The Definition of a Toy is a stunningly democratic and collaborative offering by a young percussionist destined for much greater things.

The three toylike attributes are the gateposts for these players' adventures. They get onto a fertile plain saturated with melody and swing, spearheaded by trumpeter Brad Turner and fanned by Schyff after the embers are stoked by Achim Kaufmann, whose piano runs dissect the threads of the melody. Michael Moore comes in to add deep, bold strokes. And then the tempo slows and melody is again shunted aside as Turner unleashes tight clusters of notes, drawing Kaufmann into the spaces. The mood has shifted dramatically but seamlessly. Free expression continues on "Duet, where the early probe and feel bursts into raucous cries. The flux continues, but the cutting edge remains.