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One of the joys of watching Cyrus Nabipoor live is seeing what he’s up to when he’s not playing. The jazz trumpeter is an unapologetically expressive person, so, when leading an ensemble as he did this past Sunday at Show Bar, he couldn’t stop himself from reacting to what was going down around him. Holding his instrument to his chest, he would bend and bob and contort his body in reaction to guitarist Jack Radsliff’s snaky, Sonny Sharrock-like solos. His face twisted into a delighted sneer when drummer Micah Hummel or bassist Garrett Baxter would surprise him with a fill or melodic sproing.
Nabipoor had a lot to move for on Sunday. Stopping for a quick spot at home in the midst of a short Northwest tour, he and his ensemble were a road-tight machine. The quartet powered through the set with command and elation, unfazed even by Radsliff having to change a guitar string as they charged toward an unexpectedly powerful closing statement, a psychedelic unpacking of Jimmy Webb’s peerless classic “Wichita Lineman.”
The bulk of the setlist was made up of original compositions, much of it earmarked for an album the quartet hopes to record soon. The material explored a wide stretch of sonic territory, from Headhunters-like jazz-funk grooves to a long polyrhythmic piece that sounded like the citizens of a North African country holding a Mardi Gras celebration. In each one, Nabipoor cut through the swells of sound with vaporlike elegance and the limber smoothness of a dancer. He even managed to add a sensuality and softness to the familiar hooks of now pop standard “Friday I’m in Love.” And during Nabipoor’s solos, I couldn’t help but notice that his fellow musicians mirrored the trumpeter’s expressiveness, sharing their own sly grins and brief flickers of wonder.