JULIAN HESSE - Troubleshooter
HGBS Blue Records: HGBSBlue20205
Julian Hesse: trumpet, flugelhorn; Peter Čudek: bass; Sebastian Wolfgruber: drums
Recorded by Jason Seizer at Kyberg Studios, Munich
A native of Munich, Hesse has been building a significant and well-deserved reputation as a master of understated trumpet playing. On this set, he switches between trumpet and flugelhorn, coaxing sounds that sit comfortably between hard bop and cool jazz. The trio of trumpet / flugelhorn plus rhythm section obviously means no chordal instrument and increases the demands on the players to not only define time signatures but also embellish the musical context in which themes are presented. Perhaps this helps with the album’s title, with the musicians being set challenges that they need to find and resolve (although, in this case, surely the title should be plural?). I always imagine a ‘troubleshooter’ as a sort of Lord Digby Jones figure who swans into an ailing business and sets it straight (or, for younger readers, think Gordon Ramsey swearing his way to making a restaurant better than it was). Given the instruments used in this trio, the options to do respond to the challenge of a missing chordal instrument are somewhat limited. You could, I guess, ask bass to play chords. In a few places this is what happens. At the start of Hesse's composition ‘Mantra’, track 4, Čudek strums several notes to provide a relaxed setting for the trumpet theme (which had elements that reminded me of Burt Bacharach tunes…). But mostly, the job of the bass-player here is to play tunes of his own which can coalesce with Hesse’s sinuous trumpet and flugelhorn lines. It is no surprise that, except for Bill Evans’ ‘Very Early’, track 5, and ‘Chelsea Bridge’, track 12, one of Billy Strayhorn’s most instantly recognisable ballads, the writing duties are shared between Hesse and Čudek. I say this because (notwithstanding two improvisations which appear at the start and the middle of the set), the music feels very much an exploration of two complimentary but distinct approaches to writing and playing. Across these two approaches, Wolfgruber provides an uncanny ability to find coherences, consistencies and echoes between the pieces which give the set a very satisfying unity.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
HGBS Blue Records: HGBSBlue20205
Julian Hesse: trumpet, flugelhorn; Peter Čudek: bass; Sebastian Wolfgruber: drums
Recorded by Jason Seizer at Kyberg Studios, Munich
A native of Munich, Hesse has been building a significant and well-deserved reputation as a master of understated trumpet playing. On this set, he switches between trumpet and flugelhorn, coaxing sounds that sit comfortably between hard bop and cool jazz. The trio of trumpet / flugelhorn plus rhythm section obviously means no chordal instrument and increases the demands on the players to not only define time signatures but also embellish the musical context in which themes are presented. Perhaps this helps with the album’s title, with the musicians being set challenges that they need to find and resolve (although, in this case, surely the title should be plural?). I always imagine a ‘troubleshooter’ as a sort of Lord Digby Jones figure who swans into an ailing business and sets it straight (or, for younger readers, think Gordon Ramsey swearing his way to making a restaurant better than it was). Given the instruments used in this trio, the options to do respond to the challenge of a missing chordal instrument are somewhat limited. You could, I guess, ask bass to play chords. In a few places this is what happens. At the start of Hesse's composition ‘Mantra’, track 4, Čudek strums several notes to provide a relaxed setting for the trumpet theme (which had elements that reminded me of Burt Bacharach tunes…). But mostly, the job of the bass-player here is to play tunes of his own which can coalesce with Hesse’s sinuous trumpet and flugelhorn lines. It is no surprise that, except for Bill Evans’ ‘Very Early’, track 5, and ‘Chelsea Bridge’, track 12, one of Billy Strayhorn’s most instantly recognisable ballads, the writing duties are shared between Hesse and Čudek. I say this because (notwithstanding two improvisations which appear at the start and the middle of the set), the music feels very much an exploration of two complimentary but distinct approaches to writing and playing. Across these two approaches, Wolfgruber provides an uncanny ability to find coherences, consistencies and echoes between the pieces which give the set a very satisfying unity.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
