Russ Johnson - Still Out to Lunch

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:36
Size: 130,0 MB
Art: Front

( 9:22) 1. Hat and Beard
( 7:39) 2. Something Sweet, Something Tender
(10:21) 3. Out to Lunch
( 5:01) 4. Intake
( 4:31) 5. Gazzeloni
( 7:58) 6. Little Blue Devil
( 7:09) 7. Straight Up and Down
( 4:30) 8. Song for the Ram's Horn

The 50th anniversary of Eric Dolphy's chef d'oeuvre, Out To Lunch and more to the point, one of the great entries in the Blue Note catalogue is marked in rewarding style here. Johnson's excellent group reprises the five songs on the original album and extends the programme with a composition based on the work of one of Dolphy's main champions, Gunther Schuller, whose son is also in the band.


This wider framework is not without merit but the handling of the far from easy source material impresses for its many astute confirmations and wily extrapolations, none more so than on the title track which eventually breaks down to a ballad with the kind of eerie romanticism that runs through much of Dolphy's other work.

Replacing the vibraphone of Bobby Hutcherson with the piano of Myra Melford gives the group sound a very different backbone and rootedness, and the way that some of her fuller, sturdy chords fill out the tightly entwined unison lines of the horns is excellent. It picks up on and cements the immense orchestral implications of Dolphy's work, something that is perhaps overshadowed by the verve of his playing.

Essentially, he bequeathed to modern music mercurial lines, shapes and patterns to be remodeled as well as solos to be admired, and the brilliance of his mind took him above borders between mainstream and avant-garde. This work makes that clear.
https://www.jazzwise.com/review/russ-johnson-still-out-to-lunch

Personnel: Trumpet – Russ Johnson; Alto Saxophone – Roy Nathanson; Bass – Brad Jones; Drums – George Schuller; Piano – Myra Melford; Soprano Saxophone – Roy Nathanson (tracks: 5, 8);

Still Out to Lunch

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Russ Johnson Quartet - Reveal

Styles: Post Bop
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:42
Size: 119,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:57) 1. Skips
(9:06) 2. The Slow Reveal
(7:53) 3. Long Branch
(3:08) 4. R.E.M. Unit
(7:17) 5. Agnomen
(6:22) 6. Veiled Invitation
(1:42) 7. T.R.M.
(5:54) 8. Dog Gone It
(3:20) 9. Coda

While he has appeared on seemingly countless releases as a sideman, trumpeter Russ Johnson remains chronically under-recorded as a leader. It thus comes as a cause for rejoicing whenever one sees his name at the top of a release. Thankfully, Calligram Records has helped redress that problem with Reveal, Johnson's latest offering featuring a quartet with violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Ethan Philion and drummer Timothy Daisy. Geof Bradfield and Chad McCullough started Calligram with an eye toward showcasing some of the best talent in Chicago's ever-thriving jazz scene, and Reveal certainly qualifies. With a wide gamut of expression and a true spirit of mutuality, the disc is a terrific representation of Johnson and his colleagues' many talents.

Feldman's appearance on an all-Chicago recording is not a mistake, as the longtime New York city denizen has become a Chicago transplant, following the path that Johnson himself took in the early 2010s. He is an unfailingly dynamic and imaginative improviser, but also supremely responsive, as he darts through and alongside Johnson's lines on the crackling opening track, "Skips."

With an irrepressible groove created by Philion and Daisy, the tune is propelled forward by the obvious rapport shared by the trumpeter and violinist, who have an uncanny ability to anticipate and echo each other's moves. Their deep conversation continues in a very different vein on "The Slow Reveal," a nine-minute patient excavation which puts a premium on close and subtle interactions, as Philion's arco generates an enticing alchemy with Feldman before Johnson enters the mix to tease out his own carefully measured statements. But with this group there is always energy in reserve, and this track eventually finds it, with an intensity fueled by Daisy's restless vortex.

Reveal's nine tracks, all penned by Johnson, work their magic by oscillating between vigor and reflection. "Long Branch," the group's tribute to trumpeter Jamie Branch, is a case in point, with Johnson and Feldman taking the opportunity to delve into the kind of quiet lyricism Branch could herself explore with aplomb but with a seething intensity building underneath as the track unfolds. Fittingly, "REM Unit" possesses a dream-like power, with Philion's wide-ranging technique pivotal in shaping the track's trajectory with Johnson and Feldman.

And "Veiled Invitation" is another moment in which the quartet moves from a pensive to a demonstrative register, as the track commences in a reticent vein but eventually finds its way toward a surging vitality. "Dog Gone It," on the other hand, allows the quartet to let loose from the outset, as its nod to Julius Hemphill's "Dogon A.D." sizzles with menace. Philion's brooding bass and Daisy's relentless rock rhythm push Feldman into a frenzy, but Johnson also thrives on the track's propulsive thrust, with lines that dance and weave through the piece's closing minute.

After the cathartic force of "Dog Gone It," the album concludes with a welcome reverie the beautiful "Coda," with Feldman's delicate upper-register playing almost reaching the ether, while Johnson's mournful trumpet announces the end of a terrific recording.By Troy Dostert
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/reveal-russ-johnson-quartet-calligram-records

Personnel: Russ Johnson: trumpet; Mark Feldman: violin; Ethan Philion: bass; Tim Daisy: drums.

Reveal

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