Players - Downbeat

Steven Bernstein/
Marcus Rojas/
Kresten Osgood
Tattoos And Mushrooms
ILK 150
AAA 1 /2
It seems like Danish drummer
Kresten Osgood is everywhere,
working with Scandinavian upand-comers
and forward-looking
Americans, from Oliver Lake to Michael Blake. His association with
Blake led to this beguiling trio session that transcends the brassy peculiarity
of its instrumentation. Slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein and tubaist
Marcus Rojas function together masterfully, with a high–low attack and
putty-like pliancy that gives the combination a surprising dynamism. With
instrumentation this spare, there’s nothing to hide behind.
Rojas provides bass lines most of the time, but he veers toward fat,
patient legatos that swaddle and cushion Bernstein’s protean lines, toggling
between tart lyricism and blubbery abstraction. The slow crawl of
Osgood’s “Hope For Denmark” provides a platform for the brass’s most
plush and bulbous extroversions. While the opening of “Thelonious” is
pure spitting, sizzling sibilance, it quickly pops into a brisk tempo showcasing
Bernstein and Rojas’ precision on the melody. Osgood coaxes the
performances along, keeping an imperturbable pulse on even the most
shapeless passages. But when the trumpeter blows virtual tears on “I’m So
Lonesome I Could Cry,” that’s all he needs to do. —Peter Margasak
Tattoos And Mushrooms: Prince Of Night; Hope For Denmark; Thelonious; Scaramanga;
Abington; Eastcoasting; I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; Khumbu; The Beat-Up Blues. (62:22)
Personnel: Steven Bernstein, trumpet, slide trumpet; Marcus Rojas, tuba; Kresten Osgood, drums.
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Ordering info: ilkmusic.com
Ann Hampton Callaway
At Last
TELARC 83665
AAAA
On At Last, Ann Hampton Callaway
creates a programmatic album
that outlines the journey one
embarks on the way to finding and
experiencing love. Callaway wonders
up front “What Is This Thing
Called Love?” and then expresses
confusion over what she’d do when she encounters it on “Comes Love.”
Joni Mitchell’s “Carey” expresses the playful joy of infatuation along with
the inevitable realization that it can’t last. Callaway finds her love on a celebratory
and dramatic version of “At Last.” The album’s remainder
expresses a range of emotions and challenges in a relationship.
At Last allows for the clear expression of its plot. Callaway has a fabulous
instrument, as her dark, rich voice is flexible and supple enough to
caress each word of “Lazy Afternoon,” which draws the listener into a
world in which every moment needs to be savored as long as possible. Her
understated scat solo on “What Is This Thing Called Love?” is full of
nuance and inflection while her nimble bebop lines on “Spain” could hang
with any trumpeter’s. The guest soloists and different rhythm section configurations
enhance each song’s mood and provide variety without disrupting
the album’s narrative. —Chris Robinson
At Last: What Is This Thing Called Love?; Comes Love; Carey; At Last; Spain; Lazy Afternoon;
Landslide; Save A Place For Me; Over The Rainbow; Finding Beauty; On My Way To You. (58:57)
Personnel: Ann Hampton Callaway, vocals; Ted Rosenthal, piano; Jay Leonhart, bass, vocals (3);
Victor Lewis, drums; Rodney Jones, guitar; Mads Tolling, violin; Teodross Avery, tenor saxophone;
Marvin Stamm, flugelhorn; Wycliffe Gordon, trombone; Emedin Rivera, percussion.
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Ordering info: telarc.com