First Impressions: A Song to Sing by Nicole McCabe

Nicole McCabe’s jazzy A Song to Sing consists of 11 improvised tracks, but it’s much more than that. It’s essentially an avant-garde excursion into melody, rhythm and feel, with McCabe initially tinkering with old-school synths as well as piano, percussion and clarinet, then—with producer (and Colorfield Records owner) Peter Min—reconfiguring those recordings into loops and grooves that, in turn, become the bed for her impassioned sax play. It’s cool, compelling, the kind of music that commands one’s full attention.

Though far from a household name, McCabe is no stranger within the L.A. scene. She’s half of the electro-jazz Dolphin Hyperspace, which also records for Colorfield, has released several swinging solo sets, and played with Jacob Mann’s Big Band. The adventurous A Song to Sing is sure to open more ears for her, given that her alto sax bleats like a heart beat one moment before soaring into the divine the next.

Joining her are Paul Cornish, who plays piano on three numbers; her Dolphin Hyperspace partner Logan Kane, who plucks the upright bass on four; and Justin Brown, who thwacks the drums on three. “Running Backwards” is a solid representation of the album as a whole, with staccato rhythms supporting McCabe’s heady riffs and Cornish’s delicate piano.

Freeform jazz, which this is, is not for everyone’s taste—even, on occasion, mine. I find it best to coalesce with the music early in the morning, before my mind becomes cluttered with the day’s concerns. That said, no matter the time of day, “Mystic Mountain” is a voyage into the sublime—as is the album as a whole. The tracks are concise while the playing is precise, with moments of broken melodies repaired by song’s end. It’s a challenging and rewarding listen, in other words.