Zaid Nasser - Escape From New York

Smalls

Smalls CEO Luke Kaven has talent for artist discovery and recovery that many in the jazz industry could use as a yardstick. His modest label is home to a stable of sterling musicians, the latest unveiling being altoist Zaid Nasser. Like most of his Smalls colleagues, Nasser toiled away on the New York City scene far longer than this debut would seem to imply. Son of bassist Jamil Nasser, a sideman on classic dates by Coltrane, Pres and others, Nasser’s been playing and shedding since his early teens, almost totally outside the awareness of the jazz press. The disc’s title is in part a play on the ghettoization of certain musicians in the city and the tendency for some among them to subsequently pass without notice, a sobering situation that Kaven’s been working rigorously to reverse. The phrase also speaks to Nasser’s travels beyond the Big Apple’s borders, which have included tours on the Southern juke tour circuit with organist Bill Doggett and several expatriate years spent in Armenia.

What’s initially most striking about Nasser’s phrasing is his intrinsic ability to play blindingly fast and accurate. He takes the bop policy of velocity pioneered by Dizzy and Bird to dizzying extremes. There’s also a surprising passel of Dolphy in his sound, present in swirling glissandos and acrobatic harmonic choices. His alto tone is bright and immediate, recalling hues of McLean-ish piquancy, but from a warmer, more effusive perspective. He also has habit of plumbing timbral regions akin to tenor within the otherwise tarter pitch range of his horn. Most importantly, Nasser sounds distinctly like himself with a refreshing measure of individuality that comes through loud and clear.

Further stock in Nasser’s talent comes through in the caliber of the sidemen assembled, a roll call of some of Smalls’ finest regulars. Bassist Ari Roland continues his mission to revive arco primacy through a superficial semblance to Paul Chambers. His patterns with bow are more idiosyncratic and truthfully a tad indulgent to point where more fingers and less horsehair might have been a prudent move. Pianist Sascha Perry plays a bit pat in places, but works as an active agent for the altoist’s flights. Drummer Phil Stewart has fluid touch and spends a welcome amount of time wielding whisks, his choice according the several tunes heightened elasticity and texture.

Kaven continues to steward a small army of singular saxophone voices among them Chris Byars and Ned Goold. Nasser can definitely hang in that heavy company. His aural credentials are all over this disc, one of the most satisfying bop-grounded albums I heard in 2007. Tangentially, he’s yet another artist who corroborates my lacquerless sax theory. Sadly, it seems he’s taken the album title as directive and departed New York for Dubai. Here’s hoping that he opts to return soon and give things another go stateside.

~ Derek Taylor

[apologies to Luke Kaven for the belated nature of this review]