Now As Then

opis:
Audio 06/2004, ocena: muzyka: * * * 1/2, realizacja: * * * *:
Bardzo inteligentnie przedstawiony post cool jazz, sprawcami którego jest kanadyjskie trio trębaczki (Jon Wikan - perkusja i Gary Versace - organy). Na sesji pojawili się też saksofoniści: Steve Wilson - alt, Seamus Blake - tenor i Christine Jensen - sopran. Liderka posiada ujmująco ciepły ton trąbki, który pięknie współbrzmi ze wszystkimi saksofonami. Najbardziej wartościową stronę płyty stanowią przemyślane aranżacje i zespołowe improwizacje, umiejętności tworzenia których artystka nabrała udzielając się w najznakomitszych dużych składach Mingus Big Band i Maria Schneider Orchestra....'

Editor's info:
Grab a seat and listen up: Ingrid Jensen, Jon Wikan and Gary Versace's group Project O lets loose with bold evidence of a bright future. Taken at face value, the title pays homage to the organ, the beefy Hammond B3 of hard bop legend. Track after track explodes the instrument's traditional trio format (one of the album's conceptual goals) without overriding its natural impulse to groove. No small feat there, but mission accomplished. The results are fresh, funky, and modern. Ingrid Jensen has become one of the top practitioners of the modern jazz trumpet. She plays with guts and audacious rhythmic drive from a continually expanding harmonic pallet. Seamus Blake should be recognized among the top echelon of those who play the instrument. His ever-varied, crisp articulation makes lines fresh and interesting, part of his sassy, hard bop attitude. Veteran alto player Steve Wilson embodies the creed of the true improviser: he eschews the commonly overworked routes to take the road less traveled. Making last minute, split second choices certainly helps him avoid the same-old same-old. But no matter how spontaneous or unusual the path, he lays it down with great rhythmic authority. This horn section enjoys the nearly telepathic support of organist Gary Versace and drummer Jon Wikan. These two lock together in a Vulcan mind-meld. It's that tight. Alto player Christine Jensen, Ingrid's considerably talented sibling, guests on three cuts. When she improvises, Christine plays through the center of a song, cutting deep below the surface rather than skidding along on top. She adds a strong and challenging presence.