Bird Show Band, Bird Show Band (side A)

On 2010's Bird Show Band, Ben Vida takes a break from his solo electronic work as Bird Show to team up with a large group of Chicago improv collaborators.  Most of the album finds Vida in a quintet with two Tortoise drummers (Dan Bitney and John Herndon) and two members of the city's broad jazz community (Josh Abrams on bass and Jim Baker on synthesizer).  Where Tortoise hint at their love of fusion-era Miles Davis, here that influence is front and center.  With synthesizers floating over two groove-oriented drummers and Abrams's repetitive basslines, the most obvious antecedent is Herbie Hancock's Sextant.  The sound of Bird Show Band is neither as sterile as Tortoise nor as classic as Sextant — the recordings are slightly lo-fi but mostly somewhat plain.  The high synth frequencies and low tones of the upright bass give a bit of a modern and scooped sound, and the drums are a bit too murky to really flesh out the midrange.  Two tunes with Vida solo feel a bit closer to his other albums, and a bit out of place when surrounded by the more flowing ensemble pieces.  The front cover is simple with a lot of text — it does not quite mesh with the more classic style captured here.