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Jeff Johnson: Near Earth
ByTeuber's tenor saxophone approach here has a clean, clear, bracingly cool feel on its interplay with with Johnson's round bass lines and the intricate textures from Britton's drum kit. He floats up in the higher register mostly, vibratoless, with a style that feels like a marriage of Lee Konitz and Stan Getz, sometimes sounding almost as though he's playing a clarinet, one with a slight metallic bite to it.
The set contains a handful of ruminative group improvisations, all of them melodic and beautifully accessible, as well as covers of a couple of pop tunes, Johnny Mercer's "Dream" and Distal/Reardon's "The Good Life," as well as three Johnson originals.
The overall feeling with Near Earth is one of a soothingly understated calm, a salubrious low-key spirituality full of cool, appealing melodies riding along on a floating momentum. Even when they kick up the tempo, as on "Quickening," the music maintains a crystalline, hour-after-the-rainstorm focus.
Give it your full attention; it will repay you.
Track Listing
Three Rivers, Dream, Zen, Train of Thought, Traditional Abstract, The Good Life, Quickening, Gaia, Dances, Earthset
Personnel
Jeff Johnson
bass, acousticJeff Johnson--bass; Hans Teuber--tenor saxophone; Tad Britton--drums
Album information
Title: Near Earth | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Unknown label
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About Jeff Johnson
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
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