Jim Self & John Chiodini: Back into the Future

The instrumental pairing of tuba master Jim Self and guitarist John Chiodini is an unlikely one to be sure, but the two veteran musicians have nurtured an equally uncommon chemistry. It is a musicianly dynamic so striking, in fact, that the two inspire not just each other, but the various other players to whom they extend invitations to collaborate. On such meetings-of-the-minds as these two Basset Hound Records releases, the music skirts the edges of tradition, but ultimately finds the participants residing within and exploring unknown territory with joyous panache. It is difficult to tell whether it is the principals or their guests who are having more fun in stretching the boundaries of arrangements and style.

The Jim Self/John Chiodini Duo
Feels So Good
Basset Hound Records
2024

As if an exercise in addition by subtraction, emblematic of Self and Chiodini's very malleable symbiosis, the duo adds four guest soloists to their own idiosyncratic instrumental pairing here. On a baker's dozen cuts running just over an hour, the unhurried gentility of the interactions with saxophonists Steve March and Phil Feather, trombonist Bill Booth and trumpeter Kris Berghis readily discernible at the very outset on "You'd Be Nice To Come Home To." Transcending the predictability of the track's finish—as also occurs on the whimsical "Super Mario"—that opening cut thus sets the appropriate tone for this whole outing, a mix of originals with outside material like Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder." Understated selections like "I Forget" belie the bravery in play, while the muted but nonetheless rousing conclusion on Ornette Coleman's Blues Connotation" demonstrates the underlying courage at the heart of the project. Self-discipline too resides within numbers timing from around three minutes to just over six: none of the participants, least of all the two principals, feel the need to show off. As a result, Feels So Good lives up to its title as an object lesson in the astute use of space, in part because co-producer (with the duo) Talley Sherwood recorded and mixed the musicianship to maximize that principle; the discerning technical expertise that captures the subtle varying textures—perhaps in greatest contrast on "Little Beauty"—becomes preserved for posterity through Peter Doell's mastering.

The Jim Self & John Chiodini Quintet
Touch And Go
Basset Hound Records
2023

In keeping with the more self-contained design of the CD digipak (with a sixteen-page booklet enclosed), Touch And Go is a more unified effort than its companion piece. Accordingly, instead of guests, Self and Chiodini bond with trumpeter Ron Stout, bassist Ken Wild and drummer Kendall Kay to form a bonafide band that moves with fluid instincts in and out of transitions the likes of which distinguish the title song. There is a mutual pleasure earmarking the interactions of this fivesome that, over and above the jollity intrinsic to the tune, imparts a gaiety to tracks like "Ain't Misbehavin.'" In fact, the choice of covers (including Miles Davis' "Dig") that dominates the twelve selections is a direct reflection of the knowledgeable relish Self, Chiodini and company exhibit on originals such as the seamless mesh of blues and swing that is "Amber." The principals allow themselves some spotlight on "Only Trust Your Heart," but this sixty-four some minutes is otherwise a testimony to what generosity of spirit lies at the heart of this outing (and, by natural extension, all good jazz). And with the same elevated engineering technique applied to this title as its corollary, the sleek and sinuous lines of all the instruments come through with a clarity and depth that mirrors the collective passion in the musicianship.

Tracks and Personnel

Feels So Good

Tracks: You'd Be Nice To Come Home To; I Forget; Fanciful Dream; Cinema Paradiso; Feels so Good; Isfahan; Super Mario; Midsummer; Polkadots and Moonbeams; Sidewinder; Riddle of the Mode; Little Beauty; Blues Connotation.

Personnel: Jim Self: tuba, F-tuba, fluba; John Chiodini: guitars; Steve March: tenor saxophone; Phil Feather: alto saxophone; Bill Booth: trombone; Kris Bergh: trumpet.

Touch And Go

Tracks: Touch and Go; Ain't Misbehavin'; Only Trust Your Heart; Amber; Ornathardy; Lament; Susanne; Prolepsis; Triangles; Whisper Not; Restless; Dig.

Personnel: Jim Self: tuba, fluba; John Chiodini: guitar; Ron Stout: trumpet; Ken Wild: bass; Kendall Kay: drums