The difficulty in the bassoon for the jazz environment is one of dynamics; it doesn’t easily express emotion, and if it is attempted by the artist, those nasty double reeds remind the musician with a the embarrassing squawk. Thus, Paul Hanson’s work with bassist Jeff Denson’s group with Dan Zemelman/p and Alan Hall/dr deserves kudos for attempt and delivery.
The team sounds nimble as Hanson bounces along on “Anticipation” and the team goes modal on Zemelman’s piano on “Circle.” Denson himself is warm and supple on Ellington’s “I Got IT Bad” and bows well on the yearning “Time Waits For No One.” He even throws in his vocals for a track, and the whole team has some fun on “21st Century Blues.” Upbeat, enjoyable and open-minded with a smile. What more do you want?