Sml : Small Medium Large

The latest to come out of Chicago’s forward-thinking record label International Anthem is by Sml. Sml consists of the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. The project began as a series of long form improvisations at the beloved but now closed LA venue ETA(made famous by Jeff Parker’s heady 2022 album ‘Mondays At Enfield Tennis Academy’).

The quintet then edited, chopped, and compiled these sessions Teo/Miles-style into the stunning and mind-blowing Small Medium Large, a thoroughly dazzling record of alien beauty, frenetic jams, and dizzying artful experimentation. Each of these musicians bring years of musical cultivation and improvisational muscle to these pieces, giving the musical explorations a lived-in, timeless quality.

Listening to Small Medium Large one of the first things that comes to mind is Herbie Hancock. In-particular, his album Sextant. That might be the jazz pioneer’s most out there and wholly original work. Alien-esque soundscapes mixing traditional jazz instrumentation with Hancock’s fascination with Moogs and electronic synthesis. At the time it seemed foreign and even sacrilegious in traditional jazz circles, but it proved to be revelatory and helped to move jazz into a whole new universe of sound. Small Medium Large does that here, to stunning results.

Over the course of 13 songs and over 40 minutes Sml take us on a journey that covers everything from Afrobeat(“Industry”, “Three Over Steel”) to cosmic jazz(“Herbie For Commercials”, “Feed The Birds”) to circuital experimentations(“Industry”, “Dolphin Language”) all the while culling these strange and beautiful tracks from live improvisations. You can’t tell these songs were pulled out of thin air with the editing, chopping, and cut/pasting that was done. They all feel like fully formed works. With the exception of the last few second of “Greg’s Melody” where you can hear an audience clapping – a remnant of those live sessions – you’d think these were fully studio works.

Sml’s Small Medium Large is a stunning hybrid of jazz, electronics, experimentation, and subtle grooves laid out over its 40 minute runtime. These are five artists at the top of their game, coming together with the same like-minded goal: to move an audience and move themselves. They have succeeded, and then some.