Not unlike his father Tim Buckley, with whom relations were distant, Jeff Buckley performed music informed by folk, rock and jazz while floating free of commitment to any genre. His music has endured since his death in 1997 at age 30 as a touchstone. San Francisco’s Negative Press Project, ideally positioned to interpret his music, has released an album of Buckley’s songs as well as music inspired by him like the turbulently rolling “Wolf River” (Buckley drowned in its waters) that opens the CD. Negative Press Project comes out of a jazz setting but with younger members open to all possibilities. The group, led by bassist Andrew Lion and keyboardist Ruthie Dineen, has no trouble transforming Buckley’s “Mojo Pin” and “Grace” into melodious frameworks for instrumental improvisation within a focused ensemble setting. It’s jazz, it’s chamber music and it often involves the dynamic energy of rock.
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