Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dmitri Matheny: Cascadia

38

Dmitri Matheny: Cascadia

By

View read count
Dmitri Matheny: Cascadia
Cascadia encompasses an hour of amiable, even-tempered jazz from trumpeter Dmitri Matheny who, like several of his predecessors—Chet Baker, Chuck Mangione, Guido Basso and his mentor, Art Farmer, among them—focuses exclusively on flugelhorn. Matheny uses his gorgeous tone and remarkable lyricism to paint exquisite portraits in sound throughout a program whose ten engaging numbers enfold half a dozen of his original compositions.

Matheny shares the front line with saxophonist Charles McNeal whose solos (on soprano or tenor sax), much like the leader's, are bright and well-reasoned with nary a misspent note or phrase. The rhythm section is sharp and on-point too, with strong accompaniment and dexterous solos by pianist Bill Anschell (who also wrote the soft-flowing "Humble Origins") reinforcing steadfast groundwork from bassist Phil Sparks and drummer Mark Ivester.

Matheny wrote the tasteful opener, "Cascadia," which precedes "Tadd Dameron's jazz standard, "On a Misty Night," and five more of Matheny's bright and easygoing compositions (including one bossa, "Perfect Peaches," and one ballad, "Dark Eyes"). "Evergreen Girl" is a soulflul jazz-shuffle, "Bourdain" a warm tribute to the late celebrity chef and author, Anthony Bourdain. "Humble Origins" is sandwiched between Jimmy Webb's pop hit, "Wichita Lineman," and John Coltrane's lustrous ballad, "After the Rain," which closes the session.

Matheny is a master of his chosen horn, and Cascadia, his twelfth album as leader, redeems in expressiveness and beauty what it may lack in fire and brimstone.

Track Listing

Cascadia; On a Misty Night; Evergreen Girl; Dark Eyes; Perfect Peaches; The Lonesome Road; Bourdain; Wichita Lineman; Humble Origins; After the Rain.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Cascadia | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Origin Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Dmitri Matheny Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante
All In Motion
Dave Redmond
Cat & The Hounds
Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine...

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.