RUSS JOHNSON - Headlands
Woolgathering Records: WR007
Russ Johnson: trumpet; Rob Clearfield: keyboard; Matt Ulery: bass; Jon Deitmeyer: drums
Recorded 30th September 2016 by David Zuchowski at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Frederic March Play Circle
This is an intriguing concept album. The set opens and closes with the slinky bass line of the title track, punctuated with shimmering Fender Rhodes chords. In between these, there is a six part suite, punctuated by ‘transitions’, which are largely solo improvisations from each musician and provide a reflection on the previous piece and a bridge into the next. Throughout the set, Clearfield’s keyboards riff with great creativity and verve, bringing enthusiastic support from the rhythm section of Ulery and Deitmeyer. As you might expect from Johnson’s long (almost quarter century) tenure in New York, there are shifts in style and mood (simply quiet / loud, but also rapid changes of pace) and his trumpet sound echoes some of the greats of the bop era – bright, clear and muscular in tone, but always able to drop into gently limpid phrases when the other instruments drop out. What the music also showcases is the fertile Chicago improvisational scene, with his band-mates relishing the space to improvise not only in the ‘transitions’ but also in the solos and, often, in their support playing.
My impression of Johnson’s approach to composing (on the basis of this CD and from his excellent ‘Still out to lunch’ tribute to Eric Dolphy from a couple of years back) is that he has an enthusiasm for the well turned melody (several of the pieces here, particularly ‘Fjord’ [4] or ‘Kapoj’ [8], have themes which grip the listener immediately) and a sense of the disjointed rhythm (the final (before the reprise of the title track) piece, ‘Isthmus’ [11] has a drum pattern that sounded simple but was very difficult to tap along to). While the press release suggests that the suite sits somewhere between modern jazz and the avant-garde, I would position it very much in the jazz tradition; it is a set of well crafted tunes that swing, with some great solo work across of players.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Woolgathering Records: WR007
Russ Johnson: trumpet; Rob Clearfield: keyboard; Matt Ulery: bass; Jon Deitmeyer: drums
Recorded 30th September 2016 by David Zuchowski at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Frederic March Play Circle
This is an intriguing concept album. The set opens and closes with the slinky bass line of the title track, punctuated with shimmering Fender Rhodes chords. In between these, there is a six part suite, punctuated by ‘transitions’, which are largely solo improvisations from each musician and provide a reflection on the previous piece and a bridge into the next. Throughout the set, Clearfield’s keyboards riff with great creativity and verve, bringing enthusiastic support from the rhythm section of Ulery and Deitmeyer. As you might expect from Johnson’s long (almost quarter century) tenure in New York, there are shifts in style and mood (simply quiet / loud, but also rapid changes of pace) and his trumpet sound echoes some of the greats of the bop era – bright, clear and muscular in tone, but always able to drop into gently limpid phrases when the other instruments drop out. What the music also showcases is the fertile Chicago improvisational scene, with his band-mates relishing the space to improvise not only in the ‘transitions’ but also in the solos and, often, in their support playing.
My impression of Johnson’s approach to composing (on the basis of this CD and from his excellent ‘Still out to lunch’ tribute to Eric Dolphy from a couple of years back) is that he has an enthusiasm for the well turned melody (several of the pieces here, particularly ‘Fjord’ [4] or ‘Kapoj’ [8], have themes which grip the listener immediately) and a sense of the disjointed rhythm (the final (before the reprise of the title track) piece, ‘Isthmus’ [11] has a drum pattern that sounded simple but was very difficult to tap along to). While the press release suggests that the suite sits somewhere between modern jazz and the avant-garde, I would position it very much in the jazz tradition; it is a set of well crafted tunes that swing, with some great solo work across of players.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
