Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Fred Hess Band: In the Grotto
The Fred Hess Band: In the Grotto
ByTenor saxophonist Hess's artistry took an evolutionary leap with his piano-less quartet disc, Extended Family (Tapestry Records, 2002). He has since put out, in clockwork fashion, four similar sets, each of them nudging his artistry further along. On How 'Bout Now (Tapestry, 2006) he added an extra hornMatt Harris on alto saxophone. Hess does the same on In the Grotto, bringing in John Gunther (alto sax and flute), filling in the background with a wider range of colors.
It's an all-star band. Besides Hess and Gunther, you have the very busy drummer Matt Wilson, who always brings quirky humor and unexpected backdrops into the mix. Trumpeter Ron Miles, with his soft tone and relative restraint seems like a voice of reasonagain, it's relative. Ken Filiano, going back to "Simple Steps," sounds like a guy who came into the place looking to kick somebody's ass, but they shoved a bass into his hands. So he puts his raging energy into the four strings and burnished wood, powering off a steroidal rant against the almost surreal finesse/freedom dynamic of a Hess solo ripping around the room. Then Gunther on alto saxupping the "crazy" factorwails into his spot in front of Wilson's controlled flailing.
The title tune finds Miles' muted trumpet on a tune that blows nearly mainstreamFiliano walkingbefore it disassembles and changes tempo, with Gunther's flute adding some cool coloring.
A major strength of the sound is the arrangingvoices slipping in and out, brief unison sections loosening into overlapping conversations built around spirited soloing. And nobody solos like Hesseach turn he takes glows and flashes like a dark-hued, asymmetrically-cut diamond. Indeed, nobody makes music like Fred Hess. He has developed a truly original sound.
Track Listing
Simple Steps; In The Grotto; Hold On; Fortunes Finding; Alison's Dream; The Clefs - Final Chapter?; Ninth House.
Personnel
Fred Hess
saxophone, tenorFred Hess: tenor saxophone; Ron Miles: trumpet; John Gunther: flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Ken Filiano: bass; Matt Wilson: drums.
Album information
Title: In The Grotto | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Alison
< Previous
Bobby McFerrin in London, May 20-21
Comments
About Fred Hess
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To