By Howard Mandel

You’d think an electric bebop band led by a serious drummer would make a lot of noise, but the four guitarists and two saxmen with Paul Motian on his ECM release Garden of Eden—and joining him at the Village Vanguard through Sunday night—do otherwise. They have all the might to roar, but apportion it throughout arrangements of Mingus, Monk, Bird and Motian’s own compositions to evoke mystery and create a cool, easy space. The strings (Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Jakob Bro, guitars, and Jerome Harris, too, though his is a bass) knit a transparent web; the horns (Chris Cheek and Tony Malaby), blowing burly solos or sighing together, are caught within it. Motian’s drums set the tone, often abstractly. He’s not a heavy back-beater. He’s more like a painter with percussion. His sticks on cymbals sound like sharp blades clashing; his kick-drum pounds under a crescendo like a big beast rushing up behind you. His time is so good that he doesn’t have to prove it. So he gives the rhythms air, allowing (rather than forcing) richer things to happen. Or is that the art of producer Manfred Eicher? Garden of Eden is the perfect record through which to savor the famous ECM audio style—as recorded right here in gritty New York, the result is eclectic rebop in a resonant hush: substantial music that’s a pleasure to listen to.