The tones and textures of traditional jazz trumpet and the extended techniques that are common currency among free players come together in this session led by the young trumpeter Nate Wooley. A hyperactive denizen of the New York scene, Wooley has penned all the pieces here and sounds unmistakably like a voice worth listening to.
Appealing qualities are the melodicism, not to say Miles-ian romanticism, of some of the pieces, like "Shanda Lea," and "Erna." Interspersed are moments of more hard-edged concepts, and some tunes, like the lolling "Hands Together" and the irreverent free-boppish "Cecelia" and "Elsa," remind one of Dave Douglas' impish compositional style.
Despite the possible impression that these descriptions might give of music of a derivative nature, these are only easy points of recognition. In putting it all together, Wooley is his own man, his main strength being the facility with which he can juggle various elements of post-modern jazz and make it seem effortless and natural — that and writing some appealing, sinewy themes. Of note in this respect is an interesting crevice in the session that comes in "Ethyl" which synthesizes a lot of disparate sounds into a pleasing, hypnotic piece.
Josh Sinton's bass clarinet stands as a significant counterweight to Wolley's nimble flights, anchoring the music in low gutturals, while also able to soar to reedy buzz-edged altissimo screeches. The atmospheric effect of Matt Moran's vibraphone — sounding uncannily at times like a Fender Rhodes — interweaves surreptitiously and organically with Eivind Opsvik's understated double bass and Harris Eisenstadt's sometimes playful, sometimes frenetic drums.
Comments and Feedback:
|