I’ve been listening to jazz for almost 50 years, and I still cannot honestly be positive if I’m listening to a trumpet, cornet or flugelhorn. Paul Tynan plays all three, and all three sound equally warm on ballads and strong on uptempo tunes, and for me to definitively say which is which on a song is simply conjecture.
Nevertheless, the team of Tynan with Dan Murphy/p, Ashley Summers/b and Chris Baker/dr do wonderful work on the leader’s originals. At times, as on “More Than Just a Single Road,” Tynan and company are Chet Baker glowing and lyrical, with Murphy particularly sleek on “It’s All We Have To Offer.” The team bears down a bit on the funky modal “Low Brow” with a Kenny Dorham sweetness, while the pianist spinning around on the post bop “Swirl” with Tynan’s horn having an extra bite (was this the cornet? Couldn’t resist.) The team floats like a cirrus cloud on “Everything I Have” and the entire outing feels effortless, a good sign of mastery.