MSU Jazz Trombones: Spartan Strong

Somewhere in the jazzosphere there may be those who, upon hearing Michael Dease play baritone sax on recent albums, thought, "Gosh, I wish there were more trombone." If so, this is the album for you. Spartan Strong, which showcases the young talent in his Michigan State University Jazz Trombone program, features 22 — count 'em, 22 — trombonists across its 14 tracks. Think of it as a big band after the leader fired all the trumpet and saxophone players (although Sharel Cassity does have a cameo on alto for one tune). Interestingly, such a superabundance of 'bones doesn't turn the sound monochromatic. Some of that stems from the instrument's range, which spans three-and-a-half octaves, and the arrangers are especially fond of contrasting the deep bark of the bass trombone against the bright sweetness a tenor trombone takes on above middle C. Slide Hampton's chorale setting of "'Round Midnight" is especially striking — who else would have thought to give the melody to a bass trombone? — while the deft inner voicings of Nanami Haruta's chart for Hampton's "Frame For The Blues" create a sound so rich you'd swear they sneaked in a few saxophones.

Not everything works. "Some Skunk Funk" is a sluggish stinker, while "The Nearness Of You" is undercut by an overly busy bass trombone line. But the soloists are generally good, with a couple — Haruta and Pablo Muller-Santiago — so stunning that you may not notice that Dease only solos twice.