Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Asked to name the traits women most need to succeed in today's business world, Forbes magazine in a 2019 article underlined two of them as "grit and grace." One woman who took the advice to heart is bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton. She came late to jazz but has since made it her domain of choice, founding the trombone-centric septet Bonegasm and recording three albums under its name, the most recent of which, Grit & Grace, endorses Forbes' position by using its words as the basis for an emphatic session that displays those very qualities from start to finish.

As Bonegasm consists of four trombones and a rhythm section, it helps greatly if one of the trombonists is named John Fedchock, as there are not many jazz peers who are his equal when it comes to composing, arranging or soloing. Fedchock (who is Wharton's husband) did not write any of the album's ten numbers but did arrange two—Wharton's "Be Normal" and "Virtual Reality"—and solos sharply on four. Wharton and Fedchock share the front line with trombonists Alan Ferber and Nate Mayland—no slouches themselves—while pianist Michael Eckroth, bassist Evan Gregor, drummer Don Peretz and (on five numbers) percussionist Samuel Torres ably handle the rhythm.

Wharton commissioned five new works for the album, all by women, including two Australians: composer/bandleader Vanessa Perica ("In Our Darkest Hour") and trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis ("Coop's Condiments"). The others were written by Grammy-nominated composer Miho Hazama ("Norhala"), trombonist Natalie Cressman ("Menina Sozinha") and Colombian-born pianist Carolina Calvache ("Uncertainty"). Add Wharton's "Mama's Alright" and the Mexican folk song "La Bruja" (arranged by Wharton), and that leaves Dick Oatts ("Anita") as the album's lone male composer.

The music itself is consistently bright and engaging, with more than enough color and variety to capture and hold almost anyone's interest. Wharton is a first-class writer, as she proves on the assertive opener, "Be Normal," the breezy "Mama's Alright" and the incisive "Virtual Reality." Perica's "Darkest Hour" is suitably opaque, Hazama's "Norhala" a colorful showcase for the trombone choir, Calvache's genial "Uncertainty" anything but random, Cressman's buoyant "Menina Sozinha" (which opens with a trombone solo) a rhythmic delight. The album closes in a funky New Orleans groove, as Wharton tries her hand at singing (and does so reasonably well) on Noordhuis' playful "Coop's Condiments."

The charts are superb, the ensemble letter-perfect, the soloists (including Wharton) admirable. In sum, a good-natured and consistently engaging medley from Bonegasm.

Comments