A Glimpse of the Eternal is the tenth Criss Cross album by saxophonist and composer
David Binney since 2005. Though
Binney now lives in Los Angeles, he recorded this at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in Astoria, New York, with longtime playing associates -- bassist
Eivind Opsvik, drummer
Dan Weiss, and pianist
Craig Taborn.
Binney's original plan was to record a ballads album comprised mostly of standards. His intention shifted during the process of research, leaving only one standard. He composed seven originals, covered two tunes by
Vince Mendoza, and one each by pianist
Michael Cain and
ECM stalwarts
Ralph Towner and
Jan Garbarek. Despite the aesthetic change,
A Glimpse of the Eternal stands apart in
Binney's catalog. It's loose, laidback, and mostly straight-ahead with only occasional forays outside.
The set's 13 tracks are woven together like a dream cycle. Opener "Our Place" is introduced by
Taborn's slow, moody, elliptical chord voicings before
Weiss and
Opsvik slide in alongside him. When
Binney enters for the elegantly lyrical head, it hovers momentarily before shifting tempo slightly.
Cain's "In a Way" walks a line between an airy bossa ballad and a lithe swinging post-bop tune, offering some of
Binney's most intuitive, emotionally vulnerable playing that
Taborn is only too happy to underscore with mid- and upper-register fills and accents.
Mendoza's "Ambivalence" is a set highlight.
Binney articulates the spacious, intimate melody in tandem with
Taborn, whose embellishments shimmer.
Weiss' stick work is malleable, allowing the lyric to enter his playing as
Opsvik dances his bassline slowly in the margin.
Binney's solo is blue, tender, and resonant as the band come close to soaring in the bridge. The composer's other number here, "The Cat and the Moon," is more complex and gently dramatic, but it's threaded through with an intimate lyricism displayed in the call-and-response lines between saxophonist and pianist while
Opsvik becomes the turnstile for his bandmates.
Garbarek's "Blue Sky," which offers a majestic use of a folk melody up front, betrays the Norwegian saxophonist's influence.
Binney's playing is almost reverential in approach, but he adds enough of his inquisitive, exploratory self to transform the tune into a near anthem with help from a glorious solo by
Opsvik and wonderfully expansive, melodic playing from
Taborn. It's followed by
Towner's "Nightfall." Opening with low-end arco from the bassist framed by
Taborn's elliptical chords,
Weiss adds heft with a syncopated martial snare.
Binney flits through and across the melody, moving further afield as his bandmates urge him to travel deeper into
Towner's mysterious harmonics. The title track is a lovely original ballad and one of the most intensely lyrical pieces
Binney has ever composed. Closing standard "I Had the Craziest Dream" is a grooving midtempo swinger with a soaring saxophone solo amid walking bass, breaking snares, and luscious pianism from
Taborn.
A Glimpse of the Eternal is a delight from top to bottom. Its easy pace, breezy approach, and relaxed jam-session feel make it one of
Binney's most welcoming and enjoyable offerings. ~ Thom Jurek