Texts drawn from a range of eras and cultures, from Sufi poet Rumi to songwriter Joni Mitchell, are given compelling new interpretations in this atmospheric collaboration by guitarist Ben Monder, vocalist Theo Bleckmann, and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. Monder, one of the most versatile guitarists in jazz, is currently a member of The Bad Plus.
– Mark Werlin

A singer whose voice is provocatively outré yet emotionally inside the song; a guitarist whose long fingers stretch across strings and frets to create chords you’ve never heard before – when they found time from their busy careers to pursue a 12-year collaboration, you’d expect the results to be beautiful and strange, a compelling listen. You’d expect the poetry and shadows, but maybe not the wilder moments (like Bleckmann’s vocals on plunger or electronically altered toy megaphone).

Ben Monder‘s peers hold him in considerable awe for his single-minded commitment to his art – the sound completely his own; the range of his stylistic reach from standards to avant jazz and improv to his classical guitar compositions. Theo Bleckmann, beyond his cachet as a jazz singer (protegé of Sheila Jordan; re-interpretations of standards) is the renaissance man of contemporary vocal performance, his resumé of collaborations a who’s who, from Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass to the Estonian Radio Choir and Mark Morris Dance. His passion is to embody music in every possible way.

Like their previous Songlines collaboration No Boat and Theo’s quintet Origami, At Night is a study in contrasts that flows together into a unified statement. A recurring element is the settings of texts by the Sufi poet Rumi. Bleckmann’Monder evoke the interior depths, along with the sensuous warmth of his meditations on God and earthly beauty; no surprise that this mystic drunkard would appeal to their sense of adventure, their delight in play in the awakened, improvisational moment. Another strand is covers of pop songs – Joni Mitchell in tender empathy, the Beatles in psychedelic splendor. Then there are the wordless songs and textural improvs, several featuring Satoshi Takeishi’s darting, glancing approach to percussion and electronics. So what’s the through-line? Monder refers to “a balanced flow of energy.” Theo, talking about his use of live electronics, offers some other clues:

“For me it’s important to have a physical connection to the processing. In a nutshell: I push a button and when I push it again the loop repeats, decays, elongates etc. Building up multiple vocal lines can sometimes make time and music stand still, something I’m going for in ‘Late, by Myself.’ Each song or melody has to have a distinct sense of purpose. I most often sing wordless music, so that when I do sing lyrics I’m always trying to think of their meaning beyond the individual sentence or word to give the song its purpose. I like to convey a larger sense of mood or state of mind. Using layering in a song that has a lyric is always an extension of the words and the overall atmosphere or underlying soundscape….Each player in this trio is very autonomous, musically speaking. Three sonic worlds can exist simultaneously and create a fourth. Free improvisation is so delicate on so many levels and there’s a good balance here of making bold statements, being sensitive to one another and playing irreverently all at once.” – Theo Bleckmann, vocals / electronics

Theo Bleckmann – vocals, electronics
Ben Monder – guitar
Satoshi Takeishi – drums, percussion