Dark Journey: The Music of Andrew Rathbun

Saxophonist and composer Andrew Rathbun has a specific musical direction, and he accomplishes creating a nice set of music in that direction. However, describing that direction is difficult. Listening to the opener "Making No Sense" might offer the reader some help. Rathbun's music is highly composed, with large doses of improvisation, using both directional grooves and expansive soundscapes. Doses of electric piano and distorted guitar further push the music outside of the norm, as do the wordless vocals of Greg Jasperese. One thing is for certain, bassist John Hebert, drummer Keith Hall, and percussionist Kevin "Bujo" Jones create a rhythmic atmosphere that allows the soloists and the compositions to go anywhere and everywhere, and they do. Hall and Jones work together well, and Hebert finds the space between them to explore. The front line of trumpeter Scott Cowan, Rathbun, and guitarist Matt Landon fill up the space that the rhythm section leaves, the rhythm section creates a nice springboard for melodicism, and pianist Matthew Fries manages to intersperse important colors and directional signs upon the music. At the middle of it all is musical ringleader Andrew Rathbun who gently coerces some very nice music from the Western Jazz Collective.