|
Jold
On | Fred Hess Big Band| Dazzle Records
By Don McClenaghan
Fred Hess has been prolific this millennium. For those familiar
with the Denver-based saxophonist's last six discs, however, Hold
On may come as a surprise. Since 2004, Hess has immersed himself
in the art of the piano-less quartet, before augmenting his group-first,
with a second saxophonist, and then a guitarist, moving from quintet
to sextet and offering up a fresh and energetic take on free jazz.
With
Hold On, Hess jumps into the big band arena for the first time,
with stunning success.
This ambitious foray into the big band arena sounds like a set that
Hess always wanted to make. In this respect, a comparison can be
made between Hess and the late Joe Henderson. Both are saxophonists
with huge technical mastery of their instruments, impossibly creative
soloists and musicians' musicians. Each spent a good deal of time
blowing under radar (more so for Hess, in a post-major label world)
in spite of prodigious skills. Henderson got his shot at doing his
Big Band (Verve Records, 1995), after the success of his Miles Davis
tribute So Near, So Far (Verve Records, 1993). It seems that Hess
has engineered his own opportunity after the critical success of
his series of small label sets
.
With the free aspect of his small ensemble sets in mind, a very
free and perhaps even wildly cacophonous (Satoko Fujii-like) approach
to big band might be expected. But the harmonies sound closer to
the mainstream, and are often majestic-Ellingtonian even. Cool,
ephemeral, lighter-than-air reed washes float through foundations
of substantial brass, tied into a tight package by the rhythm team
of drummer Matt Wilson, bassist Ken Filiano and pianist Marc Sabatella.
Fantastic solos abound by trumpeter Ron Miles, alto saxophonist
John Gunther, trombonists Tom Ball and Nelson Hinds, Filiano and,
of course, Hess. The sound of the tenorist breaking out in front
of the ensemble for a solo is a marvelous experience-the gorgeous
fluidity of his voice, the labyrinthine stories he tells, twisting
and turning from one surprise to the next, wrapping up with off-kilter,
Hess-ian logic.
Anthony Braxton's "RBHM-KNNK" and the Clef Family, back
with "The Clef's Visit to Grandma," are the exceptions
to the set's straight-ahead vibe. Braxton's tune is darkly abstract
and wandering, with a superbly prickly piano solo by Sabatella.
With the Clef's-who have appeared on all of Hess' small ensemble
discs-things are as madcap as ever. An initial listen suggests an
extended family fistfight on Grandma's back lawn, but Hess' liner
notes reveal involvement of wild dogs and giant, mutant, radioactive
wood ticks, as well as helicopters blown out of the sky by lightening
strikes. Such is the world of Hess' friends the Clefs
.
With Hold On Fred Hess proves himself a first rate big band man.
|
