Bicoastal Collective: Chapter One

Trumpeter Paul Tynan and saxophonist Aaron Lington on this first of hopefully many releases of their Bicoastal Collective, a group formed from the relationship forged at the University of North Texas in the late 1990s. Despite living many time zones apart, Tynan and Lington seem to be neighbors in their love of heady jazz, as the tracks on this album display their talents as both modern composers and as strong mainstream improvisers. Counterpoint and lush voicings are replete throughout and the term ?collective? applies not only to the egalitarian treatment of the group at large, but also to their modern use of early-jazz improvisational technique. A fine instance of Tynan and Lington employing said technique is heard during the fourth movement of Tynan's seven-movement Story of Langston Suite, his musical autobiography of the influences that have led him to his current position as associate professor of jazz studies at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. Tynan's compositional pedigree from the big band program at North Texas is in full view, as his writing for ten instruments often makes them sound like twenty; and the smoothness with which one section of a tune flows to another is so well conceived that it is at times difficult for the casual listener to keep track of where they have been from section to section or tune to tune. Nonetheless, while this is an album that could be enjoyed for its surface prettiness, like most of the best jazz, it requires multiple hearings to unlock its true beauty.