Amos Gillespie: Unstructured Time for Jazz Septet

Chicago-based composer/educator/alto saxophonist Amos Gillespie's CD, Unstructured Time, employs a variety of time signatures but is anything but unstructured—in fact, the opposite may reasonably be opined, as taut structure is clearly front and center on the album's four instrumental and five vocal numbers. In other words, "unstructured" in Gillespie's lexicon bears absolutely no resemblance to "free" jazz but refers instead to the struggle to find structure and balance in an environment wherein one is constantly bombarded with negative messages and stimuli.

The group's singer is Alexandra Olsavsky, the lyrics by Gillespie. While her voice is pleasant enough and she sings on-key, Olsavsky's elocution needs more work. Perhaps some of the disconnect has to do with the mic. Or it could be the material: Gillespie's lyrics, no doubt meaningful to him, are rather less so to those who are tasked with unraveling their import. The titles—"Deconstructed," "Like a Blossom," "Sleepless," "Fewer Words," "Silence Is Your Own"—offer only a small measure of clarity, while Olsavsky's expositions do little to shed further light.

When left to its own devices, Gillespie's sextet is splendid, especially so on the fast-moving finale, "Juiced." The other instrumentals are the opening two- part fanfare, "Shades of Red," the lyrical "Nothing Changes" and winding "Tangerine Road." While Gillespie bears some improvisational resemblance to Phil Woods and Cannonball Adderley, and the concepts are often similar, his sound is rather unlike either of them, more akin to Sonny Criss or Lou Donaldson. Tenor Andy Schlinder, a Windy City veteran, solos with assurance, as do guitarist Casey Nielsen and pianist Paul Bedal. As for rhythm, no problem there: bassist Dan Thatcher and drummer Gustavo Cortiñas are wide awake, well-armed and interactive.

The session would have been well-served by more of the same. As it is, there are four above-average instrumentals and five somewhat less pleasing vocals. For those who prefer vocals, the reverse may be true. In either case, a mixed bag.