Dan Rosenboom: Coordinates

Coordinates is a fully realized mature statement from composer, arranger, and trumpet virtuoso, Dan Rosenboom. It is a massive effort in multiple senses. Through an immersive concept centered dually around sound as character and the abstract relationships between numerical structures as they apply to time and groove, Rosenboom has crafted a self portrait that bridges many unique aspects of his musical personality. The album features 28 of Los Angeles' finest musical artists, employed in a series of unorthodox combinations that allow the pieces to utilize a wide swath of instrumental colors and moods.

Since 2014, Rosenboom has been the head of the label Orenda Records, which, in addition to hosting many of his own releases, boasts a roster of open-minded and cross-genre projects from across the United States and abroad. Many of those same musicians are featured on Coordinates, including long-time colleagues saxophonist Gavin Templeton, pianist Joshua White, trombonist Ryan Dragon, keyboardist Jeff Babko, and clarinetist Brian Walsh. Rosenboom has expanded personnel considerably with this project though by incorporating mixed percussion, a string quartet, a brass septet, and some half dozen guest soloists. As a result, Rosenboom's vision is at its most varied, with nods to modern chamber work, film music, Eastern European folk music, technical death metal, progressive rock, and avant-jazz. Further, his interest in concepts from mythology, numerology, and astronomy play a crucial role in the conception of this music. 

The "coordinates" referred to in the title and five of the nine constituent tracks mark distinct aspects of Rosenboom's musical mind. One can imagine several sensorially overwhelming locales through listening to the pieces. There is an extremely vivid sense of depth and scenery on display across each of these pieces. While many of Rosenboom's trademark qualities (virtuosic soloing, dense and angular extended melodies, ratcheted ensemble intensity) are present throughout, subtle nuances of his approach speak more freely on Coordinates, due to the augmented instrumentation. In particular, there is a cinematic dimension in the way he employs texture and motivic development that speaks to his skill as a composer and sonic curator as much as an instrumental acrobat. Much like Anthony Braxton or Karlheinz Stockhausen, Rosenboom's writing allows his pieces to be heard as parts in a greater whole. Somehow, the aesthetic he achieves on Coordinates manages to coexist as austere and groovy in equal measure. Whatever mind-altering state a listener might be in while digesting the heavy themes is balanced well by how visceral and well-executed each piece is. 

The album begins with the spare and vaguely ominous "Prisms, Mirrors, Portals," a meditative introduction that allows for a brief but deep breath before deep-diving headlong into the maelstrom of the rest of the album. Much of the music functions around a core rhythm section of guitarist Jake Vossler, bassist Jerry Watts Jr., and drummer Caleb Dolister , which is consistently heavy and nimble throughout. Along the way, things get funky ("Coordinate 1: Many Worlds, Many Dances"), warped ("Coordinate 2: Apophis"), menacing ("Oracles"), and occasionally even calming ("Josephine's Dream"). Each piece is enveloping and multi-dimensional before the listener even considers the sheer level of death-defying instrumental facility and inventiveness displayed by Rosenboom and company. Some highlights include the groaning contra-wind unisons between Walsh and Jon Stehney on the track "Old Ghosts" as well as Mahavishnu Orchestra-inspired viola firestorm from Lauren Elizabeth Baba on "Coordinate 4: Nemesis." The finale of the set, "Coordinate 5: Hyperion," is an instrumental anthem that eschews soloistic proclamations in favor of a profound collective closing statement that allows Rosenboom to present the totality of his visions and firmly establish the relationship of all the other pieces to each other. 

The very last sound on Coordinates is lingering, droning feedback from the heavily distorted guitar of Vossler. This serves as an ideally fitting climax to all the sound preceding with a reeling quality you might envision as going all 15 rounds with a heavyweight champion. This is an undeniably impressive set of meticulously crafted and stylistically diverse music. It is a stirring artistic gesture from Rosenboom that is ambitious, awesome, and also plain fun to for the entirety of its lean 41-minute duration.      

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