Jimi Michiel

Review of Kelly Rossum’s “Line”

I can honestly say that even if I didn’t know Kelly, or knew him and thought he was a jerk, I would still really enjoy his new album, “Lines.” The fact of the matter, however, is that I do know him and he’s a great guy, and it makes his new album all the more enjoyable.

There is both a continuity and a disjunctive quality to Lines. As mentioned in the liner notes, “line” can stand for linear (straight-ahead) thinking, or the abstract lines of someone like Frank Stella. I would by no means label this CD a “concept” album, but it seems like there was considerable thought put into the overall structure of the album. The result is like a cohesive, logical collection of sometimes illogical, angular tracks.

There are 6 tracks on the cd entitled “Line.” 5 of the tracks are short (about 2 minutes) takes where the head is played and then one of the plays for a few choruses, followed by a short tag to end the track. It’s a great way to show off the band. Of these five tracks, I would have to say I most enjoyed “Line II.” There is an incredible amount of cohesion between the tenor (Woody Witt) and drummer (J.T. Bates). While the trumpet and alto versions of the tune (Line I, Line III respectively) stay relatively “inside,” “Line II” brought to mind the Cotlrane album “Interstellar Space” (although it’s difficult to get that far out in only a couple of minutes.

Although I’ll admit I’m not in love with the tune “Line,” Kelly’s solo on the extended version is one of the highlights of the album. He begins with some slow lyrical material in the lower register that really rubs (the right way) against the rhythm section as it plunges ahead. He eventually gets into faster, more technical licks, but the lyrical material that he starts the solo with gives the listener a context to place the rest of the solo. Everything sounds spontaneous, but there is an incredible logic to his playing that is missing from a lot other contemporary performers.

The difference between the “Line” tracks and the other tracks on this album is significant. “La Vita a Roma” begins with a slow Latin groove that showcases Kelly’s incredible sense of timbre and blend with the other horns. By repeating a simple musical gesture several times, passing it around between front-men, you get the idea that each of the horns is really trying to “get inside” each others sounds. Very. Cool.

“Sitting on the Dock Looking At Stars” has a very hip backbeat underneath some very “out there” harmonies. Although I couldn’t make out any kind of concrete tonality, the notes just seemed to float above the bass and drums (two brothers, Chris and J.T. Bates). There’s no real soloing on this track, just some very impressionistic moods (although the harmony is angular, it’s a very non-aggressive angularity).

“Sand Dunes” starts out fairly straight ahead, but starts to get more and more out, culminating with what amounts to a very weird trumpet cadenza, which goes from very weird, to not so weird (for a second) and then right back to weird, all the while continuing to be very, very cool. It seems like by the end of the track Kelly has dismantled what was at one point a straight ahead groove, played with the pieces, tried to put the thing back together and finally managed to fit the pieces back together (although not as they were at first).

“Seduction” is just that, a seduction. The Mohawk-ed ones plunger work on this track is downright dirty. The incredible expression Kelly gets with the plunger is, for me, the trumpet highlight of the album. He doesn’t fall into clichés, he just listens and plays. The soprano solo on this track provides a good balance to Kelly’s plunger, although you only really hear that at the end of the solo when the soprano plays over the other horns. All in all, this tune is a great place to catch your breath on what is otherwise a more high-octane disk. Very seductive, somebody owes me dinner…

The one disk on the album that I wasn’t a huge fan of was “Soft” (maybe it’s the trumpeter in me that sees Soft and gets angry). It’s hard to quantify why, but maybe it’s that it seemed like it should have been building to go somewhere (like it did in the opening few measures), but never quite did.

“Places Of The Mindful” begins with ambient noise, what sounds like some high harmonics on the bass and some whistling, mixed in with a few other weird noises. The harmonics eventually become a kind of drone, with horns sneaking in and out throughout. In a lot of ways it reminds me of some of Madeski, Martin and Woods intros, except MMW always gives in and drops a beat before their audience gets too board. Rossum asks a little more from his audience and the results are spectacular. The sound is almost completely ambient, but more than any other track on this CD, this cut has a crystal clear musical line. I’m guessing it won’t get a whole lot of radio airplay, but if it did, I would listen.

So all in all, a great CD. Kelly’s playing is phenomenal throughout, but the most impressive thing is that you can tell he really led the album. There’s a big difference between leading an album and slapping your name on the front of the album, and Kelly really gets it. His personality is all over this one, and that’s a very, very good thing. Congratulations on a really great piece of work, BRAVO!!!

-Jimi

Dave

Great review, Jimi. I'll use this opportunity to give my take. I have been delaying writing it, largely because there is so much to digest in this CD and I wanted to give it numerous listenings.

First of all, I agree 100% with your comment that the CD has Kelly's stamp on it throughout. I REALLY enjoyed the entire disc. While I enjoy a lot of avant garde jazz, this disc has a unity to it that I believe comes from just what you are saying, along with the unity that "Line" provides. I would also say that while at times the music is quite out there, it is extremely listenable for those not as familiar with the genre. The emphasis on melodic playing makes it so. At the same time, I think the disc as a whole places a lot of demands on the listener. It is pretty high energy throughout. I found myself wishing there was something more ballad-like to be had just to give my heart a break.

There is some great playing on the album! Kelly sounds fantastic on everything. The Bates boys provide a very cohesive groove throughout. There seems to be a kindred spirit and synergy between them and Kelly. The two saxophonists represent other ends of the spectrum. Woody seems most comfortable when way outside; Chris seems less comfortable in that mode. But in the end I really grew to appreciate the contrast that they provide.

I also liked the compositions a lot. I found it very interesting that while the harmonic content of this album is pretty free, there is so much added by the quality of the compositions. They are far more than just a jumping off point for each solo. Jimi's comment about the balance and blend in the front line is spot on. There are times when it is difficult to tell trumpet from soprano. I think the most interesting tune is Seduction, and it is most accessible of all. I agree with Jimi that it is a chance to catch your breath! But I also really dug Places of the Mindful, although it seemed a little out of place on this disc. It was fascinating to listen to.

I spent six years in Minneapolis, and I was familiar with Chris and J.T. in Motion Poets, but primarily knew Chris T and Kelly as classical musicians at the U of MN (although I knew they were both jazzers too). It was great to get an opportunity to see how these musicians have developed in the past seven years. Fantastic album Kelly! Congratulations on a very unique and enjoyable CD!

40cal

I'll add my two cents!!!


First I must apologize to Kelly for being tardy in this review.

I approached Kelly's offer of a CD with some trepidation. I am not a fan of "free jazz" nor really ever experienced it. For many years I looked at music of this genre as modern art. That is I'd rather stick a bayonet through my eyeball than look at some of that stuff.

I must admit, I was totally wrong in my opinion. I enjoyed listening to Kelly's CD. (NO BS). I was impressed with the wide range of tonal colors he is able to get on his horn, as well as the obvious musicianship that is present. Kelly is able to convey moods and feelings with his horn. This seems to be a trait that is not all that common amongst some horn players. More importantly for me, he does this in a fashion I can understand. As I mentioned before, I was not a fan of this style of music, but Kelly makes it accessible to the free jazz neophytes like me. That in my opinion is what makes the CD so enjoyable and what makes me think very highly of his talent. There are many artists (not just in music) that come off as being arrogant in that if you do not appreciate the work of art, you are some sort of cultural moron. This is not the case with Line.