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Krzysztof Penarski
Tim Daisy I Juggling Finesse & Fury
Chicago’s intimate, homey venue the
Hideout has a reputation for creative
bookings like the free-jazz outfit Klang, which
played a CD release gig there in May. The
band’s drummer, Tim Daisy, juggled finesse,
fury and fun rhythmic interplay as though he’d
filled up on ultra-high octane beforehand.
Not that Daisy had an easy assignment:
The new Klang album Other Doors (Allos
Documents) takes the music of Benny
Goodman, along with Goodman-inspired originals,
and launches it all on an improvisational
flight that ricochets from familiar themes to
ferocious flights, then back again. But Daisy,
34, has the stamina and smarts to pull it off live,
whether hitting his staccato stops with exactitude,
or chasing the torrential runs of clarinetist
James Falzone as though running sweet circles
around a twister. In Daisy’s capable hands,
the music of Goodman emerged as though telegraphed
from a Gotham back alley during the
ebb and flow of a stormy midsummer’s eve.
Daisy provides the surest foundation imaginable
for this formidable quartet. He’s also a
joy to watch; rendering the album’s title track,
Daisy whipped his brushes on the rims into
such a froth of sound that you might think
locusts had swarmed the stage.
Daisy’s adventurous playing reflects a wide
range of influences, running the gamut from
avant-garde pioneer Milford Graves to postbop
paragon Elvin Jones. Daisy also counts
himself a fan of European improvisers such as
German drummer Paul Lovens.
Closer to home, he credits fellow Chicago
musicians for toughening and tightening his
sound, and helping him find his voice as a
percussionist. “One beautiful thing about the
scene here is that we all work in various groups
together, so we get to know each other as players,”
said Daisy, who performs frequently
with acclaimed saxophonist Ken Vandermark.
Daisy and Falzone trade places as bandleaders
for the outfit Vox Arcana, which also includes
Klang contributor Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello.
Daisy says the side project has deepened
his approach to Klang’s excursions: “It’s very
structured chamber music, so there’s a different
vocabulary. You bring that back into Klang,
and it changes things in all sorts of ways.
There’s a fluidness and a synergy that creates
an expanded sense of possibility.”
Daisy has developed a great working relationship
with Vandermark: “He’s got one of the
strongest work ethics I’ve ever seen,” Daisy
says. “He’s constantly putting together bands,
setting up rehearsals, making records. I’ve
actually learned a lot just hanging out with him.
On the road, he’s taking me to art museums.”
Daisy’s two new releases are duo projects.
He recorded The Conversation (Multikulti)
with Vandermark, and The Flower And The
Bear (Relay) with cellist Daniel Levin.
In his own way, Daisy has fashioned an
approach to drums and rhythm that goes far
beyond meter and tempo, into the realm where
his playing splashes color like Jackson Pollock
one minute and renders a sublime backdrop of
cyan-tinged hues the next.
Beyond that, Daisy’s also a guy who’ll substitute
knitting needles for sticks to generate an
exotic percussive thread, or smack an ashtray
if it helps him close a musical sentence with
trashy punctuation.
Chicago music lovers who haven’t seen
Daisy play should check him out soon, with
Klang or any of his other projects, because if
he has his way, the future will turn this rhythm
king into a road warrior. “I’d like to do more
touring with my own groups,” he says. “I love
traveling and meeting people, playing in front
of new crowds.”
—Lou Carlozo
SEPTEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 21