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CD Review: Tom Christensen Sextet - Gualala

Label: Naxos Jazz
Personnel: Tom Christensen- tenor & soprano saxophones, oboe, english horn, clarinet, Charles Pillow- tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, Satoshi Takeishi- percussion, Ben Allison & Doug Weiss- bass

Despite its reputation as a progressive, cutting edge art form, jazz music has evolved slowly. A look at the history indicates that major shifts occur only every decade or two. Evolution is often determined by change in instrumentation, which in turn is determined by practical and acoustical demands. The cornet yielded to the trumpet because the New Orleans and Chicago bands were playing loud and the trumpet was better suited for rising above the din. The banjo and guitar of the early ensembles gave way to the piano when the music went indoors. Then too, instrumentation changed whenever a new giant walked upon the land. The clarinet was superceded by the saxophone because of the appearance on the scene of Coleman Hawkins, then Lester, Bird and Trane, all of whom made such an impact that we’ve had 50 years of saxophone dominated jazz bands. The standard lineup of piano, bass, drums, saxophone and trumpet has been with us for a long time now. There have been successful departures from the formula, such as The Birth of the Cool, and some ill-conceived experiments that are better forgotten. (Does anyone remember french horn player Julius Watkins bop-with-opera- singer project?) Innovation can be a beautiful thing when it works, a disaster when it doesn’t.

Reedman Tom Christensen with the release of Gualala on Naxos Jazz, has created one of those beautiful things. It’s beautiful because it works, and it works because Christensen and his bandmates have covered all the bases. Christensen’s compositions were written specifically for this ensemble. There is no chordal instrument, nor is anything missing here. Whether on twin tenors or oboe and clarinet, Christensen and Pillow play richly interactive melody lines, support each other’s solos, and anchor the ensemble during bass solos. Satoshi Takeishi’s percussive coloring on a host of unidentified instruments is perfect for this configuration. Whereas a conventional trapset would tend to overpower the delicacy of oboe and english horn, Takeishi’s style of percussion playing drives the ensemble with a quiet fire, always interesting, always focused.

Gualala taken as a whole is a successful marriage of genres. It is informed by the European Classical tradition in both the writing and the front line instrumentation. It has elements of indigenous music, and there’s a fair share of hard bop influenced blowing on the cuts that feature two tenors. It just may be that the future of this music will include more of these cross-genre excursions, using non-traditional instruments to expand the possibilities for soloing as well as writing. While we wait and see, it’s refreshing to see some cultural exchange happening on the new music scene, especially when it is done as well as it is here.   

- Richard Mayer  

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