Mike Caudill: Caught at Dusk

Mike Caudill acquits himself well on his first trio recording as a leader, Caught at Dusk. The saxophone/bass/drums trio has been all but a rite of passage for young saxophonists ever since Sonny Rollins released his trio recordings, Way Out West (Contemporary Records,1957) and A Night at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note Records,1958). It is a tricky configuration, with no chordal instrument, like a piano or guitar, for support. That allows unprecedented freedom to play outside the chords, but requires great skill to pull off interesting, coherent improvisations. Caudill, backed by a strong rhythm section of Greg Toro and Dave Fox, uses the warm sound of his tenor to create sophisticated songs that successfully traverse the trio terrain.

The first piece, "Conduit," sets the mood for the album with a strong opening run by Caudill and a perpetually changing tempo that Toro and Fox handle adeptly. Caudill shows great skill at writing songs with intricate and interesting rhythms, like "Abstract Destiny," that, while not particularly abstract, moves between triple and double meters over which Caudill provides a lithesome solo. But it is Caudill's melodies that make the songs soar. Some of the best songs feature Caudill's boldest and most vivid playing, such as "Transactional," "Think Bigger" and "Meandering." "Think Bigger" is one of the two duos on the album with Toro, whose instincts on bass are formidable, allowing him to anticipate and respond adroitly to Caudill's improvisations.

Caudill ends the album with a solo cut, a bold move. It is the perfect indication of his compositional ability as the intricate melody and rhythm all hold together in a swinging denouement to the album. This is an impressive debut for the young trio, and a sign of even better things to come.