Dark Wood, Dark Water

The leader of Dark Wood, Dark Water, Chad McCullough, is a trumpeter who wrote all his disc's original material which is mostly at slow to moderate tempos. He comes up with lovely insinuating melodies. The slowly pulsing "Lock Down" and the woozy "Bock's Car" demonstrate the blowzy, lyrical beauty of McCullough's playing as well as the quick-silver piano decorations of Bill Anschell. "Home" is a lovely waltz soulfully explored by saxophonist Geof Bradfield and "Dreamscape" is another slow tune that has McCullough spiral and wheel along with Bradfield's soprano and Mark Taylor's alto over a deeply profound rhythm. This CD is mostly on the slow side but it contains a lot of dimensions and distinctive, powerful playing.