Mark Ortwein: It Was Time

A byproduct of waiting as long as Mark Ortwein has to record one's first album as leader can be reaching too far and trying too hard to achieve perfection. That seems to be the case with It Was Time, wherein Ortwein's versatility is never in doubt—he plays nine instruments on the album—but his musical choices are too often below the norm. Whatever the reason or reasons, Ortwein planned the program to suit his taste and is answerable for the outcome.

Ortwein's main instrument is the bassoon, which he plays on half a dozen numbers (electrified on three); he uses groups of various sizes and shapes (including an ersatz string section on the opening track) to flesh out his designs. Ortwein wrote five of the album's eleven numbers, none of which rises above the ordinary. The problems surface at the outset, on "It Was Time," whose strings do nothing to redeem an otherwise tepid and colorless essay. Ortwein doubles on tenor there, as he does on a sluggish treatment of "After You've Gone," John Coltrane's "Lonnie's Lament," his own "I Might Be Happy" and the closing "Bigfoot."

Ortwein tries to lighten the mood on the Latin-flavored "Pepperoni Grande con Queso Mas" but misses the mark again, as he does elsewhere despite the best of intentions. He comes closest to nailing the target on a quartet version of "I Might Be Happy," on which he plays bassoon as well as tenor (and "duels" with himself) alongside guitarist John Fell, drummer Carrington Clinton and his son, Ola Ortwein, on bass. Elsewhere, it is mostly a case of "close, but no cigar."

That also applies to the lone vocal, by Josh Kaufman on the lackluster "I Can't Make You Love Me," as well as to bassist Peter Hansen's "Basso Bossa," Ortwein's "No More Butterflies," "Lunar Love," the well-named "Schizoid" and the grim and plodding "Bigfoot," written by (and featuring) Ola Ortwein with Ortwein the elder on electrified bassoon, tenor and baritone sax. Trumpeter Kenny Rampton appears but is largely wasted on "Bigfoot" and "After You've Gone."

While Ortwiein no doubt had lofty goals in mind, It Was Time simply does not hang together, even as a showcase for his impressive talents.