Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Brent Jensen: Trios

182

Brent Jensen: Trios

By

View read count
Brent Jensen: Trios
Alto saxophonist Brent Jensen reinterprets seven classic, time-tested standards on Trios; and if the word "standards" makes you think "mainstream," don't be surprised if the sound here incorporates a free and elastic vibe.

The Idaho-based reedman—the Director of Jazz Studies and Woodwinds at College of South Idaho in Twin Falls—employs two very different trios on this, his fourth Origin Records release. Three tunes feature Jamie Findlay on guitar and Zac Matthews on bass—both from the Los Angeles-based Acoustic Jazz Quartet. "Beautiful Love, "How Deep is the Ocean" and "East of the Sun" have a tight, traditional, pared-down swinging feeling and a relaxed straight-ahead sound. The second trio, featuring drummer John Bishop and bassist Doug Miller, stretches the familiar compositions more toward the free zone. In part, this juxtoposition of reverence and pushing the envelope is what bumps this set up from damned good to truly excellent.

Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing," a seldom-covered gem, with the Bishop/Miller team behind Jensen's sharp lines, is a bouncing, loose-limbed romp. Coltrane's classic "Giant Steps" and Monk's "Well You Needn't" are infused with a vibrant, free-flowing buoyancy by the same trio. Throughout, Jensen's tone sings, precise, cool, articulate, clean and dry, in a Paul Desmond mode—and in fact, Jensen's first CD for Origin was Sound of a Dry Martini: Remembering Paul Desmond.

The edgiest-sounding tune—with the Bishop and Millar configuration—is, surprisingly, the American Songbook classic "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise." It's a dark daybreak, a throbbing black cloud bass with low thunder drums, Jensen stabbing out a lightening melody with ragged jabs. This tune is followed up by a lovely and reverent reading of "East of the Sun," featuring the Findlay/Miller rhythm team, with a softly swinging, straight-ahead approach.

Trios is an outstanding set that walks a line between freedom and mainstream with remarkable beauty and aplomb.

Track Listing

Beautiful Love, Bemsha Swing, How Deep is the Ocean, Giant Steps, Softly As in a Morning Sunrise, East of the Sun, Well You Needn't

Personnel

Brent Jensen
saxophone, alto

Brent Jensen: alto saxophone; Jamie Findlay: guitar; Zac Matthews: bass; Doug Miller: bass; John Bishop: drums

Album information

Title: Trios | Year Released: 2006 | 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.