Year: 2004
Record Label: CreativeJazz Records
Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic
Musicians: Scott Reeves (trombone, alto flugelhorn, didgeridoo); Bill Mobley (trumpet, flugelhorn); Kenny Werner, James Williams (piano); John Lockwood (bass); Bob Gullotti (drums); Janet Reeves (vocals)
Review: When the names of contemporary jazz trombonists come up, Scott Reeves’ name isn’t often mentioned. However, his self-produced recent release, Congressional Roll Call, should alert those listeners fortunate enough to hear it that Reeves belongs in the ranks of some of the leading practitioners of the instrument. Reeves has spent years performing as a sideman with numerous jazz artists such as Dave Liebman and Benny Carter and with touring R&B artists like The Temptations or Gladys Knight and the Pips. As he was playing behind the scenes, Reeves’ was developing his own musical ideas separate from, but related to, those in whose groups he performed. In addition to writing his own music, Reeves was investigating the sonic possibilities of other instruments in the trombone’s approximate range, including the alto flugelhorn and the didgeridoo. All of that pent-up creativity is released on Congressional Roll Call, and Reeves gets to plays the music the way he sees it.
On the CD’s shortest track, the Buddhist-themed “You Are What You Think,” Reeves sees the spiritual nature of the Dhammapada through the rhythmless duality of the didgeridoo’s haunting drone, complete with overtone, and the reassuring spiritually based work of the alto flugelhorn, made possible through multi-tracking, as if it were announcing the start of a new day.
On “Congressional Roll Call,” Reeves sees excitement in the modal possibilities of horns and drums as a call to attention and then a locomotive onrush of sound, of course, capped off by an apparent blare of the train’s conductor before settling down into solos.
On James Williams’ composition, “Four Play,” Reeves sees chances for interplay among the members of his quintet as they trade fours in an energizing blues that, while indeed allowing them all to exhibit their own musical individualism, provides a showcase for Williams, his ability to build a solo unmistakable in stride fashion and a joy for the ears to behold.
Reeves looks back on “Remembrances” when he draws on the musical reminiscences of, apparently, friends and family no longer extant, deduced from the bittersweet nature of the mellowed tune in 6/4. Elongating the feel through sonic rumination, Reeves allows time for trumpeter Bill Mobley, pianist Kenny Werner and bassist John Lockwood to contribute their own thoughts on the subject of remembrance through meticulously crafted statements.
Congressional Roll Call, even as it remains highly accessible, presents the sophisticated and challenging insights of a trombonist whose vision, years in the making, has culminated in brilliance, burnished, musically expressed.
Tracks: Saudado, Congressional Roll Call, Strays, Four Play, Speak Low, You Are What You Think, Remembrances, Ciao Luna, Spring Is Here
Record Label Website: http://www.creativejazz.com
Reviewed by:
Don Williamson
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