DAVID BAILIS, Tree of Life

In addition to an eclectic musical resume that includes being part of the electro funk band Pimps of Joytime and working with Philip Glass and Sierra Leone hip hop star Bajah & The Dry Eye Crew, veteran guitarist David Bailis’ bio lists an extracurricular fun fact – he’s a highly decorated marathoner, triathlete and coach.

In both aspects of his life, the Boston raised, Brooklyn based artist knows how to modulate his energy flow and pace himself to achieve amazing results. So after dazzling us with raging blasts of distorted jazz/rock energy on his 2023 opus 3D DB3, Bailis is in a whole new state of the race on his five song EP Tree of Life. His guitarisma is stellar as ever, just more thoughtful, fluid soulful, jazzy and improvisational as he ensembles with the adventurous new quartet of Chris Speed (tenor sax), Eric Lane (piano, synth bass) and Jason Nazary (drums).

While he engages at times in high octane solos (bustling his way through the funked out “Big Dreams” to a raucous crescendo, for instance), he’s just as impressive laying back a bit to allow his cats to shine. He establishes the new dynamic from the get go, launching the opening track “Rays of Light” with a beautiful piano solo introduction by Lane and letting Speed carry most of the melodic emotion before sneaking in his first solo.

Bailis wraps the set likewise, with an expansive atmospheric arrangement on “Is Eternal” that allows for ample band interaction and explosive improvisations. Another highlight finds Bailis in solo guitar mode, artfully exploring the cool subtleties in the melody of Bobby Caldwell’s early 90s gem “Open Your Eyes.” Though this piece showcases the magic Bailis can create on his own, here’s hoping he keeps this quartet vibe moving forward in the future.