Dino Govoni: Hiding in Plain Sight

Tenor saxophonist Dino Govoni acquits himself well on the curiously-titled Hiding in Plain Sight, his third album for Whaling City Sound, as do his colleagues on this basically bop-leaning, mainly quintet studio date. The qualifier "mainly" is necessary because trumpeter Alex Sipiagin performs on only five of the album's nine tracks. On the others, Govoni is cradled by his capable rhythm section, pianist Henry Hey, bassist Michael Pope and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Each of the numbers is an original composition, four by Paul Nagel, two by Hey, one each by Govoni, Pope and Hal Crook; and here is where the session stubs its toe, as none of them rises above the level of adequate. Nor, on the other hand, are there any that fall beneath that standard. They are simply good, made better at times by Govoni and his teammates who bestow their undivided attention on each of them. Govoni solos well, sounding much like a number of his contemporaries—Lew Tabackin, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano and Don Braden spring to mind—sustaining the requisite groove without saying anything that has not been articulated by others. Sipiagin is on basically the same wavelength—astute enough to keep things interesting but somewhere shy of special.

Pope solos on electric bass on Nagel's ballad "Falling Ahead," acoustic on his own "Appels to Apples," lending no cause for complaint in either instance. The quintet arguably shines brightest on Crook's Latin swinger, "Thinkers Anonymous," with sharp solos all around and energetic timekeeping by Watts. The closer, Govoni's "Edge Walker," is another highlight, with a charming melody that morphs into a fast-paced flag-waver. Govoni is splendid here, as are Hey, Sipiagin and Watts. A solid ending to an above-average session.