Album Review: Peter Schlamb- Tinks

Peter Schlamb is full of surprises. 

The vibraphonist's participation in hip-hop themed concerts, collaborations with New York-based musicians and his increasingly impressive mainstream jazz performances have been documented at Plastic Sax. 

None of that prepared me for his new album Tinks.   A compact set of nine original compositions, Tinks includes contributions from trumpeter Hermon Mehari, saxophonist Ben van Gelder, bassist Karl McComas-Reichl and drummer Sean Mullins.  Yet because of an unusual array of production effects, it's often difficult to identify the instrumentation on the terrifically entertaining album.

I have no idea which musician is featured on "Launch," but the trickery is very compelling.  The propulsive "Falling" opens with metallic riffing that may or may emanate from a vibraphone.  The instrumentation on the fusion-like "Lunacy" is similarly perplexing.  "Stacy Hill" and "Theme Song" are more conventional but no less interesting.

No selection is longer than five minutes and most of the beats are remarkably fresh.  As a result, the altogether vital Tinks is as immediately engaging as a pop album.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)