|
While there's nothing that's less than respectable on Still Evolved, tenor saxophonist Ted
Nash's third album as leader and first on Palmetto Records, I kept waiting for the session to catch
fire. Despite the presence of two of Nash's well-known colleagues from the Lincoln Center Jazz
Orchestra, trumpeters Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Printup, and a blue-chip rhythm section, it
seldom does, even though, taken as a whole, the music is engaging and there are occasional
intervals of inspired blowing.
Perhaps the overall perception of nonchalance has something to do with the choice of material
(Nash wrote each of the eight selections), or perhaps these gentlemen – each of whom has led
groups and recorded on his own – are so proficient that they simply make things appear to be too
easy. That could well be the case, as no one seems to have any problem apprehending Nash's
charts, which are harmonically and rhythmically elaborate, to say the least.
Nash's songs are "thematic" in the sense that each one depicts a place, an event or
a person
that has special importance to him, beginning with "Shooting Star," written after the
composer saw
one from his Manhattan apartment. Other dedicatees include his old Volvo station wagon
("Jump
Start"), a church in Italy ("Bells of Brescia"), an aunt's passion for collecting
("Ida's Spoons"), pianist/composer Andrew Hill ("Point of Arrival") and even
himself ("The Competitor").
Marsalis and Printup appear on four tracks apiece, and each one gives full value, delivering
workman-like performances that are bright and burnished without raising any goosebumps. The
rhythm section, which has to stay alert and on its toes to decrypt Nash's blueprint, is forceful but not
overbearing. As for the leader, he is smooth, articulate and technically sound, as one would expect
from someone with his musical pedigree (he's the son of trombonist Dick Nash and the namesake of
his
uncle, saxophonist Ted Nash), and has evidently listened to and learned from such contemporary
masters as Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins and Joe Lovano, among others.
Nash and his teammates are so capable that there's really nothing to censure; on the other
hand, Still Evolved doesn't offer much to quicken one's pulse either. An agreeable but less
than adrenalizing session.
Contact: Palmetto Records, 71 Washington Place, New York, NY 10011.
Phone 1-800-PALMCDS;
www.palmetto-records.com.
~ Jack Bowers
|
Track Listing: The Shooting Star; Jump Start; Still Evolved; The Competitor; Bells of Brescia; Point of Arrival; Ida?s
Spoons; Rubber Soul (56:06).
Personnel: Ted Nash, tenor saxophone; Wynton Marsalis (1, 3, 5, 6), Marcus Printup (2, 4, 7, 8), trumpet; Frank
Kimbrough, piano; Ben Allison, bass; Matt Wilson, drums.
|
