Zacc Harris: Chasing Shadows

Long a fixture in the Minneapolis jazz scene, guitarist Zacc Harris has been at the nexus of a strong group of musicians, many of which are featured on Chasing Shadows, Harris' follow-up to 2021's well-received Small Wonders (Shifting Paradigm Records). Utilizing a quintet format as a vehicle for Harris' fervent melodicism, the results are a highly listenable slice of modern guitar-based jazz, both easy on the ears and skillfully played throughout.

Most of the members of Harris' current group are veterans of his first release, The Garden (Shifting Paradigm Records, 2012)—namely, bassist Chris Bates, pianist Bryan Nichols and tenor saxophonist Brandon Wozniak. The only newcomer here is drummer Pete James Johnson, although one would be hard-pressed to discern any hiccups in integrating him into the group's sound, which displays a compelling chemistry on the album's eight cuts. The cohesiveness of the music is also due to the circumstances in which the compositions were crafted: Harris took advantage of a summer retreat in 2022 to write most of them, and their inherent lyricism shines with lambent clarity.

The catchy opening title track is one of the album's strongest. Harris and Wozniak introduce the somewhat darkly-hued theme, but it is leavened with a lighter melody that peeks through the composition periodically to give it a more uplifting temperament. Solos are exchanged by Harris, Wozniak and Nichols, but without ostentatious excess; their musical chops are convincing, but the composition's tuneful center is always evident. "Moonrise" relaxes the tempo a bit, but it features another winning melody and more room for Harris and Wozniak to stretch out on their impassioned solo statements.

This is a remarkably listener-friendly album, as Harris' tone is warm and ingratiating, and he has a particular rapport with Wozniak, whose lines often merge so well with Harris' that they can be hard to differentiate, as on the gently surging "Worlds Apart." Even on a piece like "Catalyst," with its deviously shifting time signatures, the five musicians bring a sympathetically unified vision to their craft. Harris has clearly found his formula with this group, and subsequent efforts will be worth seeking out.