In common with the circumstances of many of his salt & pepper peers who sharpened their chops on the bandstands of the 70s, the years haven’t been entirely kind to trumpeter Jack Walrath. Seems like I routinely encounter his past albums, of which there are admittedly a prolific number, in the cut-out bins of a local brick & mortar establishment. A sizeable percentage is otherwise out of print. That ongoing and often gratuitous attrition is part of what makes this new project with Portuguese bassist Zé Eduardo so opportune and overdue. It’s an opportunity for Walrath to once again seize the limelight in the company of youthful players who share his passion for open-ended postbop and he does so with zeal to spare.
The disc’s noirish cover collage of vintage cars and gun-wielding wise guys speaks to both the band’s swagger and sense of playful nostalgia. Walrath and Eduardo split compositional duties, three apiece. The remainder of the program includes a piece each by the two Spaniards, saxophonist Jesus Santandreu and drummer Marc Miralta, and an episodic rendering of the Mingus’ classic “Sue’s Changes” that approaches the length of the original version Walrath had a role in bringing to life on the 1974 Atlantic LP Changes One.
A strong backbone of early Impluse-era Coltrane often supports Satandreu’s style of phrasing, with slivers of Shorter shot through the marrow. His jaw-clenching tonality contrasts with Walrath’s cooler inflections on the opening alliterative “Simian Spring Song.” Eduardo kick starts the tune with a tight crochet of descending bass notes, elaborating on the elastic pattern with a late-blooming solo at the track’s tail end. His enviable acumen at erecting sturdy, sinewy vamps and ostinatos that unfalteringly propel without overpowering proves equally effective on subsequent pieces.
Most of the other tracks hover in the same four to six minute span. “Birds Fly Free” is similarly devoid of effluvium and bundles bustling solos from all but Eduardo into a lean and expeditious package. The bassist’s “Novissims” orchestrates a three-way call-response chamber conversation between tenor, bass and trumpet sans the presence of Miralta’s traps. The remainder of the set vacillates between good and great, with the slow-to-boil “Bazaar” representing the latter category and the hard-charging “Prou” upping the ante via the merits of a ripping tenor solo by its composer Santandreau.
Walrath’s storied history, first as a sideman with what was arguably Mingus’ last epic working quintet, and later as a fecund leader in his own right, warrants him a fate far better than the one he has received of late. Gigs have been relatively plentiful, but the praise that used to be so steady has lately become elusive. This disc is a perfectly poised candidate to help right the slight.
~ Derek Taylor
Posted by derek on January 25, 2006 5:04 PMSo many great Walrath recordings. I was enjoying "Neohippus" a while back along with "A Prayer for Sanity". He seemed to be thriving in the late 80's - early 90's with a string of releases on Muse and Blue Note. I did see him play last year, however, with Muhal's big band in company with another great, somewhat overlooked trumpeter, E.J. Allen. They both played at the top of their game, as usual.
Another thing I like about Walrath is his fondness for 50's era horror and science fiction films. Anyone who dedicates a tune to John Agar is my hero.
Posted by: Clay Fink at April 11, 2006 6:01 AM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................