Album Review: Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

The Cave of Winds is mean and ugly. The confrontational chaos overseen by saxophonist Tony Malaby suits the intractable moment. Malaby, guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tom Rainey convey legitimate fury on the new release. The aggressively angry “Scratch the Horse” sounds like Charles Mingus by way of Sonic Youth. The ebb and flow of the 18-minute title track evokes a middle aged riot. The quartet doesn’t merely disregard the established rules of improvised music; they deface every signpost of swing propriety.