Focus

Let's start this week with Chicago based saxophonist John Wojciechowski and his new album Focus on Origin Records. He teams up with a monster of a rhythm section, pianist Ryan Cohan, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Dana Hall. Wojciechowski's a pretty aggressive player on the tenor, and from the get-go on this disc, it's clear he's not planning on taking any prisoners. With such a sympathetic rhythm section, he tears through every nook and cranny of these songs, and it's exciting to listen to. The title track is an exhilarating tour de force. "Divided Man" sounds at first like it'll be a mellow, mid-tempo breezy kind of thing, until Wojcichowski and Hall start building a head of steam, and then...look out! I hope you like it as much as I do!