With piano, tenor sax and trumpet usually getting the headlines, it’s nice to see the rare chance to hear a trombonist take the lead in a group. Here are some recent releases.
Neil Maxa boasts of a big and bold tone, leading a quartet with Dave Loeb/p, Steve Flora/b and Bob Chmel/dr through a collection of vintage 50s and 60s boppers. A pair of tunes by ‘bonemeister Frank Rosolino shows Maxa’s allegiances with a swinging take of “Blue Daniel” and warm and bluesy groover with Flora in the front during “Free for ALL.” Maxa’s is wonderfully bel canto as Loeb provides a pilaf of support on “Emily” and the team sizzles during “This I Dig of You” and grooves with bold brass with Chmel riding shotgun on a grooving “Fungii Mama.” A Classic shiny chrome grill.
Endorsed by Slide Hampton in the liner notes, Peter Lin mixes originals with traditional and modern Chinese compositions to create an original yet bopping set. He brings together Anthony Nelson Jr-Benjamin Kovacs/ts, Anthony Ware/as, James Zollar/tp, Charlie Sigler/g, Oscar Williams II/p, Ben Rubens/b and Winard Harper-Nic Cacioppo/dr for a cut and paste collection of tunes. Slide Hampton’s “My Blues” is a swinging sextet that has Lin veering around rich harmonies with Ware and Zollar, while “Forgotten Times” has the leader’s butter ‘bone working with Kovac’s muscular tenor. The traditional piece “Sweet as Honey” is a mix of delicate lyricism and modern pulse, with Lin’s horn confident throughout, while his own “Born Here, From There” points to the strength of his pen as well as his bell. Impressive foray.
Paul Rutherford co-leads a front line with Ken Vandermark/reeds, Torsten Muller/b and Dylan van der Schyff/dr through six concert pieces from a gig in Vancouver, Canada. The team stretches out for twenty minutes on the extroverted and exploratory “Morning Star” while the title track has some explosive moments on the trombone. There are then four short and concise excursions, mixing freedom and inquisitive moods, making for thoughtful and attentive listening.