PAPATAMUS REDUX

WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT RECORDS (RELEASED AUGUST 7, 2026)

If you want to know what elastic sounds like, listen to Nicola Miller’s Spit!, a follow up to her 2024 debut recording Living Things. Working with the same band that appeared on that release — Miller on alto sax and flute, Frank Gratkowski on bass clarinet and alto sax, Doug Tielli on trombone, Nicholas D’Amato on bass and Nick Fraser on drums — the music on Spit! flexes, stretches and adapts but always returns to its original state.
The Mingus-like title track is a case in point. D’Amato opens the tune with an extended bass solo which signals the horns to begin. D’Amato shifts to a strong walking bass line that supports a supple Gratkowski alto sax solo (think Eric Dolphy) and an assertive statement from Tielli. His  steady line gives way to freer duo interludes from Tielli and Fraser, Tielli and Miller and D’Amato and Fraser before the walking bass line reemerges and the horns slip back into the opening line. That’s what elasticity sounds like! The band continues to demonstrate their pliability and adaptability on the three-part “Telecommunications.” The mood is more chamber-like than the title track as the horns swirl and swell entwined in collective improvisation throughout most of these pieces. On “Telecommunications II,” Miller turns to the flute which is a textural complement to the lower timbres of the trombone, bass clarinet and bowed bass. The dense harmonies and layered textures continue with “Where’s The Line?” with D’Amato’s bass line weaving in and out of the horn ensemble. The final track, “Drummers Are Bad” begins with Fraser playing a call and response pattern between elements of his set. The horns enter with long tones over Fraser, eventually pulling apart and coming together to bring the piece to a slow and somber finale. Fraser’s adaptability throughout the six tracks is pure elasticity as he shifts from driving the band with steady rhythms to punctuating horn statements with creative percussive effects. The music of Spit! reminds me of a statement from major league baseball franchise owner and promoter Bill Veeck — “I will not break the rules but merely test their elasticity.” Once again Miller’s compositions and her band members stretch the conventional rules of jazz in delivering a album that lives up to the essential spirit of jazz — dynamic spontaneity.

BOTTOM LINE: Nicola Miller’s Spit! is a great example of what I call elastic jazz. The music is constantly stretching, flexing and adapting but always returns to its original state. Much of that success comes from Miller’s compositions which are rich in texture and timber and the virtuosity of musicians who constantly demonstrate the key elements of elasticity — resilience, flexibility, springiness and stretchiness.