Kensington Pianist Debuts Her ‘Most Risky Recording’ Yet

The rise of Kensington-based musicians, like pianist Kris Davis, and performance venues to showcase them, is emblematic of Brooklyn’s ascendancy as a center for improvisatory music.

“I think my music appeals to an audience that is looking for something outside of popular music: there is still pulse and time, chords, structure within the music, but they are filtered through improvisation,” said Davis.

Davis will perform her new album this Sunday, October 2 at Roulette in Boerum Hill. The venue, which bills itself as a space for “new and adventurous” music, dance and intermedia artists, moved to Atlantic Avenue five years ago, after more than 30 years in downtown Manhattan.

According to Davis, neighborhoods like Kensington are a big draw for Brooklyn’s burgeoning avant-jazz scene. She moved there in 2013 with her husband and then 6-month old.

“We love Kensington, it’s a great neighborhood to be in, especially with a toddler,” she said. “There are so many other artists with families here, it’s nice to have each other for support and understanding. Being an artist and having a family is no small undertaking!”

Davis notes that many of the musicians she plays with live in Brooklyn, owing to the vibrant scene and cheaper rent. In fact, some go as far as calling Brooklyn the new “downtown scene,” like the Knitting Factory in the 90s.

Davis’ show on Sunday celebrates the release of her new album, Duopoly, a series of duets with artists she had admired but never recorded with. One of those was guitarist Bill Frisell, who was at the center of that downtown scene. Frisell agrees that the enthusiasm for improvisation that marked the earlier flowering in Manhattan is alive in Brooklyn. “And it’s only natural — so many people have moved over there,” he said.

“I could tell pretty quickly there was something amazing with her,” Frisell said of working with Davis.

Davis, who has recorded an album for every year of the current century, typically uses frequent live performance to shape the music before recording. But for Duopoly, she decided to record with no prior rehearsals. “The way it was recorded was a pleasure, and rare,” Frisell said. “Nothing seemed to phase her!”

“I was surprised by how easy it all was,” Davis said. “Many of the tracks you hear on the recording are first takes. The tracks with Bill Frisell were done in half an hour, and the rest of the time we hung out and drank coffee.”

But what seems easy in retrospect, Davis admits, was more daunting when she conceived the project: inviting eight different musicians into the studio to record — live to tape — pieces they hadn’t previously performed.

“’Duopoly is possibly the most risky recording I’ve made,” Davis said. ”Along with improvisation, the recording captures the first meeting in an intimate duo setting with these eight incredible artists.”

“I didn’t have any expectations going into the studio to record. I was a little nervous before the sessions,” she said, “but I also knew that the people I would be playing with were excellent improvisers and listeners and I was optimistic we would be able to establish a connection, both on the compositions I brought in and on the purely improvised tracks.”

The record has already begun to garner impressive reviews, with Mark Corrato of All About Jazz noting the “wow factor” Davis and her guests achieve. Besides Frisell, the record includes duets with clarinetist Don Byron, Julian Lage on acoustic guitar and fellow pianist Craig Taborn.

Taborn will join Davis onstage at Roulette to present a two-piano concert. They plan to make good on the venue’s promise of something “new and adventurous.”

There is a high level of risk involved in this kind of music making,” said Davis, “the ultimate realization of the music coming from the performers, making real-time decisions as improvisers.”

Kris Davis and Craig Taborn play at 8pm on Sunday, October 2 at Roulette; 509 Atlantic Avenue. Tickets are available online.