Experimental jazz supergroup SML has never rehearsed together. In fact, they barely ever talk about the music, preferring to leave everything for the stage, where — improvising in front of live audiences — they begin their album creation process. Then they head to the studio and turn hours of recorded improvisations into poetic, pithy album tracks, a feat made possible by the fact that every member is also a skilled producer.
SML’s newest release is How You Been, a formidable follow-up to their enthralling debut, Small Medium Large (2024, International Anthem). Crafted from six live show recordings made between 2024-25, How You Been features the same powerful lineup of Anna Butterss (bass), Booker Stardrum (drums, percussion), Jeremiah Chiu (synths, live sampling, percussion), Josh Johnson (saxophone, electronics, synths), and Gregory Uhlmann (guitar, effects, sampler, electronics).
The players are generous collaborators, listening as much as contributing, and with many members doing double or triple duty, it’s nearly impossible to tell who’s playing what part and when. While some of this entanglement can be attributed to studio overdubs and edits (which are seamlessly integrated with the live clips), much of it can be ascribed to Chiu’s masterful live-sampling. By holding microphones up to his bandmates and capturing their live sound, he is able to sequence found footage on the spot and incorporate loops into the live improvisation. In many cases, Chiu’s repetition of small cells turns blue moments into integral parts of the song. (To quote Dave Johnson via Adam Neely, “repetition legitimizes.”)
Most of the tracks on How You Been sit between two and four minutes — the majority of them driven by a steady groove set by some combination of Chiu’s analog and modular synths, Stardrum’s drum set, and Butterss’ electric bass. Uhlmann’s guitar and Johnson’s saxophone often provide lead lines, solos, and live-sampling fodder.
A few of the tracks (“Chicago Four,” “Chicago Three,” and “Moving Walkway”) are what I’d characterize as merry-go-rounds — they set a steady tempo, maintain foundational loops, and truck along in a way that hypnotically entrains the listener. Various instruments may hop on and off the merry-go-round to add bits of flavor, but the overall dynamics and intensity remain mostly the same. “Moving Walkway” is the standout among these; leisurely saxophone and synth solos glide above a silky drumbeat and buttery bass line, creating a cool and unfettered atmosphere.
“Odd Evens” is what I’d call a bottle episode— a tight, self-contained idea manifested in a succinct, focused track. This approach gives listeners a chance to experience a more deconstructed slice of a band’s musical offerings; in “Odd Evens,” we get to sample the intricate patterns and diverse analog, digital, and processed sounds put forth by the rhythm section.
The highest highs of the album are found in the tracks “Taking out the Trash,” “Daves,” “How You Been,” and “Mouth Words,” which are also the most quintessentially jam band-y. When Stardrum’s splashing drums and Uhlmann’s headstrong guitar twangs enter in “Taking out the Trash,” the album truly starts to come alive in a more immediate and visceral way. Uhlmann’s idiosyncratic guitar lines mixed with Butterss’ unwavering bass lines form spicy polytonal morsels, and Johnson’s saxophone solo absolutely rips with the support of the utterly locked-in band. (I do wish this album had more saxophone moments.)
If you find yourself overstimulated by relentless exuberance and vigorous interlocking grooves, “Plankton” and “Brood Board SHROOM” offer opportunities for a nervous system reset. Downtempo, spacious, and rhythmically amorphous, these texture-filled tracks are immersive oases teeming with tender bass lines and glittering synths. “Brood Board SHROOM” — which I swear sounds like the album art for the Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots come to life and set at night — features a beautifully-crafted synth that’s equally rumbly, majestic, and buoyant. Listening to it, I picture a gentle giant delicately traipsing through a field under a shimmering canopy of stars while a train chugs along in the distance. The track is such a departure from the rest of the album that it’s almost hard to believe it was also born from a live improvisation.
As an album, How You Been is action-packed and sonically dense, and the quintet is in top form here: technically, creatively, and empathically. Supergroups are often overhyped, but there is something genuinely special about the collective that is SML.
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