RALEIGH — Even as a teenager, Chris Boerner’s talent was evident to anyone in his orbit. So, it’s no surprise the Raleigh native, now in his late 40s, has evolved into the acclaimed master guitarist, producer and recording engineer he is today. As a mainstay with Durham-based collective Hiss Golden Messenger, founding member of jazz-funk influenced trio The Hot at Nights and rock leaning band, The Proclivities, and in demand producer, Boerner has made a lot of friends along the way.
In his new release, “Ask the Question,” Boerner is in good and familiar company. The nine-track instrumental project features woodwind player and multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas of the Mountain Goats, drummer Matt McCaughan of Bon Iver, organist and keyboardist Sam Fribush of Hiss Golden Messenger, and bassist Cameron Ralston of Bonny Light Horseman.
Improvisational at its core, “Ask the Question” features unbound flights into free jazz, with safe returns to steady grooves and syncopated rhythms. What guides the album is Boerner’s distinct tone and unmistakable phrasing, fused with his influences across genres. Opening tracks “BöRN” and “Three Rings” are meandering, ethereal overtures, slow-paced and free, introducing the arrows each player holds in their respective quivers. Douglas’s whispering woodwinds, subtle tickling from Fribush, McCaughn’s brushes and taps held steady by timekeeper Cameron Ralston soon ignite the piece for which the album is titled.
Boerner’s affinity for and irrefutable influence by Jerry Garcia and exploratory rock presents a playful game of cat and mouse in “Ask the Question.” Still, it’s a nod of respect. A thank you note, as it were. Taking a page from a “Terrapin Station”-like Grateful Dead groove, channeling Garcia’s fret play and envelope guitar filter only to hand it off to Douglas’s horns, let the jazz go down, then give it right back. Each composition, wrought with intensity one moment and calm at the next presents a focused, exploratory album that makes room for silence, space and improvisation without losing its sense of direction.
Whichever influences Boerner wants to tell us about, be it Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Jerry Garcia or John McLaughlin, through and through “Ask the Question” demonstrates the fruits of his labor. He’s climbed the hill, established a singular sound, and through the years created a language with his friends in music.
The album holds together with a clear sense of cohesion from start to finish. Boerner and Douglas have been collaborating for over a decade. The two formed The Hot at Nights, and Matt McCaughan was part of The Proclivities with the two in the early 2000s. Not to mention Fribush and Boerner have been playing together in Hiss Golden Messenger for years. It’s no wonder “Ask the Question” hits all the high notes.
