Leaps of Faith

Before his 15 minutes of fame as a (very versatile) member of the Pat Metheny Group a couple of years back, the Seattle-based trumpeter and educator had developed a small but secure reputation during the period he was located in New York with performers such as Laurie Anderson, Myra Melford, Gerry Hemmingway and Mitchell Froom. He has recorded six previous - all hard to obtain - albums, where the overriding musical consideration was his impeccable musical taste. Here, a quartet comprising two electric bassists and a drummer may appear a bit daunting, but what emerges is an ambient backdrop where the sonic possibilities of the instruments are explored with surprising resourcefulness. This is very open music - even though the harmonic implications of 'Body and Soul', 'All the Things You Are', 'My Funny Valentine' and 'Something' would suggest closed structures. That he manages to dislocate these songs from their respective timeframes and recast them in the 21st century says much of his lucid and highly creative approach to music making.