Affirmations: Live at Blue Note marks the first performance of Theon Cross there. His band is composed of musicians from London and Chicago. The sound is raw, the energy unbridled and the performance deeply inspired. Cross plays tuba, often treated with electronics. The Americans include vanguard tenor saxophonist Isaiah Collier and drummer James Russell Sims, both Chicagoans, alongside London-based guitarist Nikos Ziarkas. The harmonically advanced compositions are performed amid rhythmic adventure with brittle punk intensity.
Opener “Greetings” commences with droning tuba and electric guitars as Sims rumbles on tom toms. The drone evolves but never leaves that form; it gathers in intensity then breathes…