Freedom, according to some conceptions, is another word for nothing left to lose. But freedom can also be everything on the line and nothing left to fear. The bold experimental space-jazz improv fusion trio Harriet Tubman — Brandon Ross on guitar, Melvin gibbs on bass, and JT Lewis on drums — is all about radical freedom, the kind of freedom that is never won but has to be fought for again and again. The New York outfit’s new album “Araminta” features New Haven-based trumpet player and composer Wadada Leo Smith. The record title comes from Tubman’s given first name.
Smith, whose music was recently the subject of the wide-ranging CREATE Festival, has said that he’s fascinated with powerful women. And Tubman, an abolitionist born into slavery, was a certified bad-ass. The music conveys some of the defiance and dignity associated with the name. It’s strange to think of fearlessness, funk and meditativeness all being conjured by the same music, but that’s the case here. Fans of the Miles Davis era that included “Big Fun,” “Bitches Brew” and “Get Up With It” will want to spend some time soaking in this. It’s got fluidity and an electric charge, with jolts and surges, reversing currents, shifting pulsations and blinding flashes. Psychedelic funk erupts like sparks from a grinder’s wheel on “Real Cool Killers.” Guitar and trumpet mirror each other on “Blacktal Fractal,” bouncing, pointillistic dabs, grimy smears and frenetic runs back and forth. There’s a sporting athleticism to this playing, but also a cool restraint.
]See Harriet Tubman at Firehouse 12, 45 Crown St., New Haven, Friday, May 12, in two sets, at 8:30 p.m. ($20); and 10 p.m. ($15). 203-785-0468 and firehouse12.com.
