Jewels and Binoculars

Roulette; Apr 21, 2008

It seems impossible to consider Bob Dylan as a songwriter without citing his lyrical wizardry. But Jewels and Binoculars issues a provocative challenge to this notion; since the late ’90s, the jazz trio—reedist Michael Moore, bassist Lindsey Horner and drummer Michael Vatcher—has been performing instrumental versions of the bard’s tunes, both familiar and obscure.

If you’re skeptical, one listen to “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” from the group’s recent third CD, Ships with Tattooed Sails, should set you right. Moore’s tenor sax perfectly captures the tumbling, protorap cadence of Dylan’s verses, while Horner and Vatcher keep a sultry, elastic pulse. The tune is unmistakable, but the band doesn’t sound shackled to its source material. Better still, the players are able to tease out hidden undertones in the songs. On “One More Cup of Coffee”—a gem from the wilderness of Dylan’s middle period—Moore traces the folkish melody on clarinet as though it were old-country klezmer, while in Horner’s hands, Street Legal’s “Señor” becomes a particularly elegiac sort of funk.

Since Moore and Vatcher live in Amsterdam, while Horner is local, Jewels and Binoculars gigs are rare. Still, the players’ onstage interaction is easy, with a hint of playfulness: Just as Dylan himself has done in recent years, they treat his material with sophisticated respect rather than simple reverence.

—Hank Shteamer