Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ricky Sweum: More Than Imaginable

62

Ricky Sweum: More Than Imaginable

By

View read count
Ricky Sweum: More Than Imaginable
West coast saxophonist Ricky Sweum grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and spent many years as a freelance musician in New York before embarking on a military career, joining the Air Force Academy Band in 2003. After a stint with prestigious jazz big band The Falconaires as lead tenor, in 2011 he moved on and now works with the Air Force Band of the Pacific in Anchorage, Alaska where he tours the U.S., Japan and Australia. Still, Sweum manages a professional career separate from his military commitments, where an extensive résumé finds him as a sideman as well as dabbling with some independent material dating back to 1994. On More Than Imaginable, Sweum reveals more of his own work, on his own label and with a first-rate lineup—altogether resulting in a surprisingly top-notch recording.

More Than Imaginable represents Sweum's second major release as leader since his 2009 Origin Records debut, Pulling Your Own Strings. Piloting a quartet featuring Venezuelan-born piano wonder Edward Simon, drumming sensation Clarence Penn and Southern California bassist David Robaire, Sweum takes to the air with ten sophisticated and varied originals, continuing his exploration of modern jazz in creative fashion. The innovative new sounds start in electrifying style with the hard-driving "Earth Squid," a high-flying energetic piece capturing strong performances from both the saxophonist and drummer Penn. Simon and Robaire take their turn on the intricate "Barry's Barnacle Blues," which features Sweum on soprano.

Though there are plenty of solid solos and other highlights on this fine disc, the title track and subsequent "Canyon Dance" provide special moments, delivering the best solo spots from both Simon and Sweum. "Belonging" and "Kiva" are similar in texture—both clearly gems of modern music, though the latter has a more percussive feel. Sweum's tender tenor leads the music on a brief but beautiful "Things You Think You Have To Do," a deliciously light ballad featuring brushes, a soft touch from Simon and Robaire's delicate bass lines.

While Sweum's dazzling statements on both tenor and soprano saxophones remain a key feature, it is his skill as a composer that may leave the most lasting impression. This ten-piece repertoire of originals concludes with his most ambitious composition, engaging the band on "Kerabag's Trance," its mesmerizing sound enduring long after an almost ten-minute duration. Serving as a natural vehicle of modern jazz, More Than Imaginable captures Sweum's penchant for modern grooves and melodic playing in a highly accessible album that's far better than can be imagined.

Track Listing

Earth Squid; Barry's Barnacle Blues; Sleeping Man; More Than Imaginable; Canyon Dance; Belonging; Kiva; Things You Think You Have To Do; Chekhovian Circus Song; Kerabag's Trance.

Personnel

Ricky Sweum
saxophone

Ricky Sweum: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Clarence Penn: drums; Dave Robaire: bass; Edward Simon: piano.

Album information

Title: More Than Imaginable | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Ninjazz Records

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.

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.