Nelson Montana: Left Turn at Tradition

As a showcase for the New York-based multi-instrumentalist Nelson Montana, Left Turn at Tradition works quite well. As a jazz album, rather less so. Montana, who plays bass, guitar, drums, piano and midi keyboards, uses all manner of special effects (and special guests) to achieve his musical purpose. And, as icing on the inclusive cake, he also sings, on seven of the album's eleven numbers.

Although Montana takes pains to say—as on the animated "Jimtown Blues"—that "no synths or keyboards of any kind were used" to create the impression of a full big band, there must have been a trick or two used elsewhere to produce some musical illusions. It sounds, for example, much like a big band blowing on the impulsive opener, Montana's "The One That Got Away." Montana sings on that one but fares better on the ballads "These Foolish Things," "My Foolish Heart," "Autumn in New York," and "Young at Heart." He has a pleasant voice and a decent range, assets which are more or less squandered on "Super Bass" (quasi-rap) and even "The One That Got Away," whose vibe is more C&W or rock than jazz. Another standard, "Sunny Side of the Street," rests somewhere in the middle.

The sense here is that the midi keyboard is no doubt used to mimic a number of instruments, as the drums heard on most tracks are unlisted. Members of the group who are named include trumpeter Alex Norris (five tracks) and tenor saxophonist Danny Walsh (two). Norris and Walsh solo nicely on the album's lone foray into post-bop jazz, "Sorta Blues," which proves, if nothing else, that Montana is as comfortable in that groove as he is elsewhere, as he fashions a brief but effective guitar solo. "Sorta Blues," however, is the exception; there is not much jazz to be found on the other numbers, aside from Walsh's heated solo and brief forays by Montana (bass guitar?) and Norris on "The Girl from Ipanema."

What Montana does, he does rather well. Whether that abides within the realm of jazz is another question, the answer to which must be, in one reviewer's opinion, only rarely—at least, not on Left Turn at Tradition, which must be appraised on that basis.