Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Roxy Coss: Restless Idealism

3

Roxy Coss: Restless Idealism

By

View read count
Roxy Coss: Restless Idealism
Roxy Coss was inspired to name the second album as leader of her own group Restless Idealism after reading a passage by Hunter S. Thompson in The Rum Diary, in which he weighs the tension between "a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other." While Coss, as a working musician, has wrestled with both sides of that equation, she weighs anchor essentially on the shore of idealism, a point of view that is reflected in her ten enticing compositions and the generally sunny nature of her tenor and soprano saxophones.

Coss lays her optimistic cards squarely on the table on the bracing, straight-down-the- middle opener, "Don't Cross the Coss" (a play on her name, which is often confused as "Cross"), proving beyond any doubt that when it comes to improvising, she lacks neither technique nor ingenuity. Coss fronts a quintet on that number, as she does on every other save "Push" and "The Story of Fiona," on which the eminent trumpeter Jeremy Pelt makes it a sextet. "Don't Cross the Coss" also makes known the considerable skills of pianist Chris Pattishall whose every solo is astute and seductive. With so many splendid musicians gracing the New York City area, it's almost a given that the rhythm section (Pattishall, guitarist Alex Wintz, bassist Dezron Douglas, drummer Willie Jones III) is steadfastly alert and unflappable.

While Coss's themes are based for the most part on her life experiences, the music itself is what carries the day, and Coss is quite adept at setting a mood and enhancing it, harmonically and rhythmically, thus keeping the listener absorbed as she and her colleagues spin a taut and tasteful web. Coss plays tenor sax most of the way, soprano on "Breaking Point" and the translucent closer, "Recurring Dream," suitably named considering the dreamlike atmosphere that enfolds several other numbers, most notably "Perspective," "Happiness Is a Choice" and "Almost My Own," each of which is near-hypnotic in scope and texture.

For comparison's sake only, Coss's style and phrasing veer often through Eric Alexander / Grant Stewart territory with nods toward such renowned precursors as Hank Mobley and Frank Foster. These are, however, no more than nascent building blocks; in the long run, Coss goes her own way, and her special approach to improvisation is well worth hearing—as is Restless Idealism, a sharp and seaworthy enterprise from stem to stern and fore to aft.

Don't Cross the Coss; Waiting; Push; Perspective; Breaking Point; Happiness Is a Choice; Tricky; The Story of Fiona; Almost My Own; Recurring Dream.

Roxy Coss: tenor, soprano saxophone; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet; Alex Wintz: guitar; Chris Pattishall: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Willie Jones III: drums.

Track Listing

Don't Cross The Coss; Waiting; Push; Perspective; Breaking Point; Happiness Is A Choice; Tricky; The Story Of Fiona; Almost My Own; Recurring Dream.

Personnel

Roxy Coss
saxophone, tenor

Roxy Coss: Tenor and soprano saxophones; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet; Alex Wintz: guitar; Chris Pattishall: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Willie Jones III: drums.

Album information

Title: Restless Idealism | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Origin 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.