NUMBER Junky have pulled it off again.
The jazz trio’s latest album Composure is minimalist, melodic and accessible, but bubbling away underneath are complex time signatures, innovative arrangements, altered chords and all sorts of musical shenanigans.
It’s a bit like the Sting song Seven Days, which is in 5/4, but you never realise it because drummer Vinnie Colaiuta keeps a regular pulse going on the hi-hat.
“Composure is about keeping calm and in control while navigating challenging metric structures and rhythms,” says Number Junky guitarist Kristian Borring.
“But too much composure can become overly controlled. Sometimes you need to lose a little control and allow the music to dance on the edge.”
The album could be the band’s most diverse to date.
Borring usually composes the songs, but this time writing duties have been shared and the album includes covers.
Highlights include the opener Mist by double bassist Zac Grafton.
• Number Junky: Zac Grafton, Kristian Borring and Peter Evans. photo by Ewa Ginal-Cumblidge
Melodic
Eerie and atmospheric, it sounds like a sophisticated John Carpenter soundtrack, with Borring playing a plangent motif on the guitar and Grafton providing the melody.
It’s a nice inversion of the usual structure with the double bass taking centre stage.
Drummer Peter Evans’ deft cymbal work is reminiscent of the late Jack DeJohnette, who played the kit with great musicality, like orchestral percussion.
Written by Borring, Mayfly is a gorgeous guitar ballad with beautiful voicings and phrasing—as if legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans had learned to play the guitar.
In fact, a lot of the album evokes late-period Evans—sparse, slightly melancholic and with an air of longing.
The recording benefits from the lovely warm ambience of Villa Studios in Osborne Park, where the band hold a monthly residency with guests.
“We recorded it more or less live, but without an audience,” Borring says.
“There’s not really any separation going on.”
In a nod to the guitarist’s Scandinavian roots, the album has two jazz versions of songs by famous Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865–1931).
Borring listened to Nielsen’s classical works as part of his musical education growing up in Denmark.
In fact, Nielsen was brought up on the island of Funen, not far from where Borring was raised about a century later.
“Nielsen is obviously one of the great Danish composers, maybe the greatest,” he says.
“So he has a big reputation, but he has a folkish influence in his writing.
“His melodies are really quite particular and strong, and I think that’s what I’m drawn to.
“I don’t know if homesickness is the right word, but I certainly feel the need to reinforce my background and my connections to Europe and Denmark from time to time in my music.”
Borring left Denmark 25 years ago, but is regularly back in Europe playing gigs at prestigious venues like Ronnie Scott’s in London.
Based in Perth, he teaches jazz at WAAPA and is an in-demand composer and guitarist, regularly performing at jazz clubs in the Eastern States.
Composure is Number Junky’s third album, following Earth Matters (2022) and Birak (2024).
They will perform Composure at The Ellington jazz club on Tuesday (October 20), 10 days before the album’s worldwide release and a national tour.
For tix see ellingtonjazz.com.au and for more info see kristianborring.com.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK