RECORDINGS Nerve After the Flare JOJO MAYER returns to the acoustic jazz format he cut his teeth on. Nerve, Jojo Mayer’s drum ’n’ bass ’n’ everything else collective, has been pushing the boundaries of electronic music for more than a decade, so it’s a wonder to hear their new material with a totally acoustic setup of piano, upright bass, and Mayer’s unaffected, beautifully organic drumkit at the forefront. Check out Mayer’s bouncy brushes in “A2,” featuring an undeniable groove established between his hands and kick drum that gets the head bobbing. There are tracks with dramatic mallet swells (“A5”), pieces that showcase Mayer’s excellent cymbal touch and swing (“B2”), and a lovely solo drum workout that sounds like Art Blakey if he lived in Brooklyn today (“A6”). Mayer spent years developing his jazz chops, so After the Flare is less of a stretch than a rekindling. And the remarkable recording is […]