Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Darren Johnston: The Edge Of The Forest

300

Darren Johnston: The Edge Of The Forest

By

View read count
Darren Johnston: The Edge Of The Forest
Thoroughly modern doesn't always equate to thoroughly enjoyable and exceedingly complex rarely yields delight. But if the composer is Darren Johnston and the musicianship is of these high standards, the outcome is instantly satisfying.

The Edge Of The Forest is the trumpeter's first Clean Feed disc as leader, but he has been heard on Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra's New Magical Kingdom (Clean Feed, 2007) and No(w) Music (Cadence, 2002). He also leads United Brassworkers Front, an eclectic trumpets and trombones intersection with guitar/bass/drums and a trio of trumpet, accordion (Rob Reich) and Daniel Fabricant (bass). Originally from Canada, he has made San Francisco his home working with the likes of Fred Frith, Rova Saxophone Quartet, and pianist Myra Melford.

The initial reference for this music might be Dave Douglas' work in '90s and, like Douglas, Johnston draws inspiration from everything from the European musical tradition to Billy Strayhorn and Eric Dolphy. Compositions like "Be The Frog" can turn orchestral while remaining intimate. He has an internal mechanism for writing tunes that swing hard like "Cabin 5" and "Broken," the latter which starts off with slurry trumpet acrobatics that motor into a bebop funk. By the time Ben Goldberg's clarinet and Sheldon Brown's saxophone enter it's a knotty stew that makes for a cold sweat blowing piece. Old friend Rob Reich joins the cast on accordion for "Froggy," spreading the textures into a more spacious setting.

Despite a stellar cast, Johnston could carry this entire project on his horn alone, displaying plenty of technique and soul. His compositions rely on Devon Hoff's strong bass to anchor each of these tunes, allowing the players the freedom to move beyond the writing—the trademark of a great leader.

Track Listing

Be the Frog; Foggy; Cabin 5; Broken; Apples; The Edge of the Forest; Sippin' With Lou.

Personnel

Darren Johnston: trumpet; Ben Goldberg: clarinet; Sheldon Brown: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Devin Hoff: upright bass; Smith Dobson V: drums; Rob Reich: accordion (2).

Album information

Title: The Edge of the Forest | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Clean Feed 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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

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.