BEN GOLDBERG QUINTET

the door, the hat, the chair, the fact

(Cryptogramophone)

You'd be hard-pressed these days to find a recording by a new experimental jazz chamber ensemble whose musical intuition is so refined that semistructured songs take on the quality of strictly conducted pieces, as if every single note and nuance had been written out. The Ben Goldberg Quintet's latest release, the door, the hat, the chair, the fact, a tribute to Goldberg's longtime mentor Steve Lacy, does exactly that. This group of accomplished musicians are careful to blend their voices for the sake of a unified sound while retaining their identity as individual players. Clarinetist Ben Goldberg's free yet structured compositions are grounded by Rob Sudduth's steady and tasteful saxophone. Violinist Carla Kihlstedt continues to astound with the rich versatility of her improvisational style, while Devin Hoff's lyrical bass work and Ches Smith's smart, delicate drumming provide much more than a simple rhythm section. What is most striking about the album is how skillfully and artfully the quintet merge so many genres, with hints of Mingus's heavy jazz in one spot and Bartók's wild rhythms in another, so that a listener feels as if he or she has stepped into a playful, cross-cultural musical dialogue. Just as a student might be inspired by a teacher, the door, the hat, the chair, the fact leaves one asking many musical questions. (Eliana Fiore)

CLIPD BEAKS

Preyers

(Tigerbeat6/Deleted Art)

Oakland-via-Minneapolis transplants Clipd Beaks make visionary and surprisingly rousing rock that draws from synthy Sheffield post-punk, free-floating Faust funk, and a shattered but shakable strain of East Coast collective crunch. This dreamy miasma of an EP bodes well for the upcoming full-length. Preyers comes out March 26. (Kimberly Chun)

March 25, 10 p.m.

Elbo Room, 647 Valencia, SF. $6–$8

(415) 552-7788