Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » ShotXShot: Let Nature Square

208

ShotXShot: Let Nature Square

ShotXShot: Let Nature Square
The ShotXShot formula is a simple one. It follows the Ornette Coleman model of group improvisation on set themes, although its music doesn't sound like Coleman's harmolodics. It has a rolling, mellifluous sound, without Coleman's sharp angles. And rather than the sax/trumpet front line of Coleman's classic quartet, it has the twin saxophones of Bryan Rogers and Dan Scofield. But group improvisation is important to the ShotXShot sound in a crucial way: simultaneous soloing gives it a full but casual feel.

Let Nature Square is the group's second release, after a very well received, self-titled live album in 2006. And, if anything, here they sound even more comfortable, more cohesive. Lending to their group-think is the shared writing duties: two of the tracks here are credited to Scofield, two more by drummer Dan Capecchi and one by bassist Matt Engle.

Playing at Jimmy's earlier this spring (a weekly series that sadly, and unceremoniously, just ended), Capecchi proved to be the driving force in the band. The saxophones intertwined, the bass ran counterpoint and the drums pushed from behind. Capecchi came to the band's Philadelphia home base from Minnesota, where he was playing with rock bands. Scofield and Engle, meanwhile, came with the familiarity of having played together in the excellent Sonic Liberation Front.

Film, painting and sports analogies are the clichés of writing about jazz, but ShotXShot invite it, their name being a cinematographic reference (i.e. frame by frame). The scenes they choose are nicely composed—establishing shots and passing conversations, rather than the all too common soliloquies that are the norm.

Track Listing

Scans; Triple Double; Overplay; Oh No; Autobonsai.

Personnel

Shot x Shot
band / ensemble / orchestra

Dan Capecchi: drums; Matt Engle: bass; Bryan Rogers: tenor saxophone; Dan Scofield: alto saxophone.

Album information

Title: Let Nature Square | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: High Two Recordings

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.