What do you get when modern texturalists Wayne Horvitz (a keyboardist whose credits include backing free jazz saxist John Zorn and leading Meters-inspired funksters Zony Mash) and Tucker Martine (a rising producer and engineer of innovative means) invite a diverse cast of their talented cronies in and around Seattle to brainstorm in the studio? A genre-crossing — make that genre-smashing — experiment with more appeal than most such projects.
You also get a band called Mylab, which on their debut album of the same name includes freewheeling banjoist Danny Barnes and guitarist Bill Frisell. If you deduce a roots element from their participation (and titles such as “Land Trust Picnic”, “Earthbound” and “Varmint”), you’re not half-wrong. All of the songs, we’re told, were built upon samples and loops of early folk recordings, and those recordings leave behind their imprint like ghosts in the machinery.
But Mylab is too open to possibilities, sonic and stylistic, to stick to any one blueprint. An instrumental band that employs grouped background vocals on certain cuts to enhance its sound, it alternates among organ grooves, diaphanous mood pieces, African pop (based on Malian field recordings, “Phil And Jerry” is a highlight), piercing blues-rock, minimalist poses, and eerie mini-soundtracks to which the great Robin Holcomb (Horvitz’s wife) lends her earthy/unearthly voice.
Even at it most dense, the music is sparked by a melodic freshness, revealing a deft lightness of touch. The other players include reed player/guitarist Doug Wieselman and drummer Bobby Previte (like Horvitz and Holcomb, members of the New York Composers Orchestra), saxophonist Skerik, bassist Keith Lowe and guitarist Timothy Young.
