Paul Tynan Quartet: Freedom And Jealousy

Opening with gentle horn colors supported by a dark yet buoyant bass line, the Paul Tynan Quartet confidently sets out to build a soundscape that will prove to be both original and fresh. The music has an atmospheric sense that slowly extends its musical tendrils like an untended grass fire. From the deliciously abrasive two horn arrangements of "Hidden Reality" leading seamlessly to the bitterly bright "Plastic People" to the leader's own trumpet frenzies in the "Change of Directions Suite," Freedom and Jealousy proves that it is just the medicine to remedy an ailing jazz collection. Saxophonist Tyler Summers has a solid tone and strong sense of style. Bassist Matt Wigton and drummer Stockton Helbing prove to be an infallible duo with their mature interactions with the soloists being a highlight. Tynan's own work on trumpet and flugelhorn strikes me as amazing lyrical for his age. He always seems to be playing for the music, for the melody and does not fall victim as many other young players to notes for the sake of dazzle and shine, tempting us with empty gestures and roads to never and nowhere. No this album is simply beautiful stuff and sure to be the envy of other musicians who are free to play in the same way but are prone to instead prostitute themselves to their own vanities.