Craig Taborn

Craig Taborn has spent much of his time over the past few years helping other musicians sound good. Since we’re talking about 2010s NYC jazz rather than, say, the ’60s Motown stable, the pianist has garnered some fanfare for himself, but it’s hard not to think of Taborn as hidden in plain sight, a Funk Brother ripe for greater recognition. A new unaccompanied record on the venerable ECM label, Avenging Angel—which Taborn celebrates at this solo show—will certainly raise his profile. Yet one couldn’t imagine a more oblique coming-out statement. Avenging Angel lacks any conceptual hook: There are no standards, no restyled pop tunes, no diverting backstory (and thus no explanation re: that exquisitely dark title) and little that registers as jazz. You can’t approach it as anything other than what it is—an album of meditative piano pieces.