Ben Lamar Gay Yowzers

The latest album from Chicago composer and improviser Ben LaMar Gay is his most fluid and assured to date. Backed by his long-time quartet of Tommaso Moretti, Matthew Davis and Will Faber, Yowzers ripples with rhythmic intuition and emotional weight, moving between playful sketches and hymn-like vignettes without ever breaking its spell. Tracks like 'the glorification of small victories' and 'I am (bells)' are recorded live, capturing the spatial intelligence of the group's shared language - an ensemble sound built through years on the road. 'for Breezy' and 'leave some for you' find Gay in a balladic register, unafraid of simplicity, while 'John, John Henry' retools folklore through polyrhythmic loops and group chant. The result is at once free and tightly woven - a folk-rooted sound that spirals into cosmic territory. Rob Frye's flute and a mini-choir add further texture, but it's Gay's ear for structure and storytelling that binds it all. These aren't just compositions but musical rituals, alive with history, invention and care. It's not jazz, not quite, not only - this is music that trusts its players as much as its audience, carrying old knowledge forward with lightness, humour and reverence. A quiet triumph.