'Zealous Angles' is the first documentation of pianist/composer Matt Mitchell's long-running trio featuring bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Dan Weiss. Mitchell has been called by The New York Times "a pianist of burrowing focus and an indispensable fixture of the contemporary vanguard." He is an anchor member of several significant and acclaimed creative music ensembles such as Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Dan Weiss's Starebaby, Miles Okazaki's Trickster, Ches Smith's We All Break, Kate Gentile's Find Letter X, Jon Irabagon's Outright!, Anna Webber's Simple Trio, John Hollenbeck's Large Ensemble, Linda Oh's Aventurine, Caroline Davis's Alula, Jonathan Finlayson's Sicilian Defense, and the Dave King Trio. He also performs regularly with many of the foremost musicians and bandleaders in improvised music, including Steve Coleman Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, John Zorn, Darius Jones, among many more.
The compositions on 'Zealous Angles' represent Mitchell's explorations into the simultaneous use of polymetric and polyrhythmic music in a group context. Composed elements featuring phrases of different lengths are played simultaneously by each musician, resulting in a wobbly rhythmic tension with pulses locking in in surprising ways. The musicians also have the freedom to direct their interaction by playing any of the lines at any time, with a goal towards playing with maximum improvisational freedom while achieving heightened levels of rhythmic fluidity. Despite the teeter-tottering nature of the music, there is a palpable sense of swing and groove, completely shattering the notions of what is possible within the jazz piano trio tradition.
