Abstract Quantities

Antwerp-based pianist Bram Weijters and Chicagoan trumpeter Chad McCullough co-lead Abstract Quantities, with bassist Piet Verbist (another Antverpian) and Seattle drummer John Bishop, a quartet that has developed close musical and personal chemistry over its five-year history. The leaders share compositional chores, penning compelling themes like "Little Song (for Mirthe)" and the carnivalesque "Acceptance or Denial", but the strength of the band's sound derives far more from its hypnotic textures and close interaction. Weijters' Fender Rhodes sound and McCullough's low-pitched, thematic trumpet contribute to the ethereal ambiance of tracks like "Billions", "Mr. Rubato" and "Winter's Lament". A subdued soulfulness permeates the music, most apparent in the dramatic sudden stops of the gospel-tinged "Glorious Traffic Jam", in McCullough's solo over "Little Song" and in Weijters and Verbist's intimate exchanges on "Before Acceptance".