Buzz
Bassist Ben Allison arrived on the New York jazz scene in the early '90s when it was rigidly controlled by a small coterie of neo-conservative "young lions." Like a number of his contemporaries, Allison chose to work under the radar rather than go along with the trend, organizing the Jazz Composers Collective. Allison's sextet, Medicine Wheel, is an outgrowth of the JCC. Allison, drummer Michael Sarin and keyboardist Frank Kimbrough develop a gorgeous rhythmic ebb and flow through the tracks on Buzz, the follow-up to the 2002 release Peace Pipe, which topped the CMJ Jazz Chart for seven weeks. The title track and "Respiration" are masterful evocations of tranquility, with saxophonists Ted Nash and Michael Blake engaging in a beautiful exchange on the latter. Clark Gayton on trombone and bass trombone adds another color to Allison's arrangement palette, which is best displayed on the bright "Mauritania," the hushed interpretation of Andrew Hill's dedication to the muse of lyrical and amatory poetry, "Erato," and a clever arrangement of the Beatles composition "Across the Universe" with the melody played directly by the horns on the first chorus, then breaking into a dense improvisational interlace as the theme is repeated several times. Review by John Swenson
Buzz
Bassist Ben Allison arrived on the New York jazz scene in the early '90s when it was rigidly controlled by a small coterie of neo-conservative "young lions." Like a number of his contemporaries, Allison chose to work under the radar rather than go along with the trend, organizing the Jazz Composers Collective. Allison's sextet, Medicine Wheel, is an outgrowth of the JCC. Allison, drummer Michael Sarin and keyboardist Frank Kimbrough develop a gorgeous rhythmic ebb and flow through the tracks on Buzz, the follow-up to the 2002 release Peace Pipe, which topped the CMJ Jazz Chart for seven weeks. The title track and "Respiration" are masterful evocations of tranquility, with saxophonists Ted Nash and Michael Blake engaging in a beautiful exchange on the latter. Clark Gayton on trombone and bass trombone adds another color to Allison's arrangement palette, which is best displayed on the bright "Mauritania," the hushed interpretation of Andrew Hill's dedication to the muse of lyrical and amatory poetry, "Erato," and a clever arrangement of the Beatles composition "Across the Universe" with the melody played directly by the horns on the first chorus, then breaking into a dense improvisational interlace as the theme is repeated several times. Review by John Swenson