Matt Booth: Sun Prints

Although this is far from a debut album, Matt Booth's Sun Prints does provide an opportunity for the enterprising bassist to offer a release comprised solely of his own compositions. With the assistance of a well-assembled band behind him, Booth proves himself more than capable of meeting the challenge, with eleven engaging tunes that cover a wide swath of jazz idioms.

Booth's quintet features his frequent associate Oscar Rossignoli on piano and keyboards, along with trumpeter Steve Lands, tenor saxophonist Sam Taylor and drummer Peter Varnado. The group has all the versatility needed to handle Booth's peripatetic tendencies, as he has interests ranging from hard bop to fusion.

"In Tongues" is a well-chosen opener, with a contemporary sound driven by Booth's electric bass ostinato and Varnado's kinetic drumming. Lands' and Taylor's terrific harmonies convey the theme of the piece beautifully, and their exchanges on the back half of the track, with the rhythm section churning underneath them, are riveting. "For Your Consideration" is another up-tempo groover, albeit with Booth turning to acoustic bass, giving the track a more conventional hard bop attitude. Taylor, Rossignoli and Lands excel with simmering solos that push the energy level considerably—the only downside being the fade at the end of the track, just as Lands is taking flight.

Booth also clearly knows his way around a ballad. "Otero Canyon" is a poignant and lyrical tune that has definite staying power, with both of the horns doing their part to define the piece's careful contours, and "Interlude" is a winsome piece that could have stood a stretching out for a longer duration than its brief three-minute duration. But Booth has other styles in his wheelhouse too. So we have "Optimal Chunks," a nod to 70s-era Miles Davis in which Rossignoli switches to keyboards and Booth gets out his electric bass. At the same time "Ice Bear" moves even more decisively into funk-fusion territory, again with both musicians going electric. While the band certainly has all the chops needed to make these shifts seem effortless, the album's cohesion can seem a bit weak. Booth even plays a bit of fuzzed-out electric guitar to close the album on "Happenstance," adding another layer to a track that has plenty of momentum and appeal without it.

With a strong melodic sensibility and fine musicianship throughout, Sun Prints has the potential to bring new listeners into Booth's orbit. Future recordings may allow him to narrow his stylistic focus a bit more, which would help to solidify his identity as he continues to hone his craft.