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FRED
HESS,
CROSSED PATHS
TAPESTRY 76007
On Perry St. / Zane / In the No / Knitwit for Tara / Funhouse /
TheClef’s Visit Grandma’s / Crossed Paths / Mystery Woman
/ Untying the Knot. 56:04.
Hess, ts; Ron Miles, tpt; Ken Filiano, b; Matt Wilson, d.
9/1-2/04, Denver, CO.
Though without the acclaim Dave Douglas has received, Colorado-based
musician Fred Hess has also been cultivating his own compositional
field for the past couple decades. Crossed Paths is his latest offering.
Here as elsewhere he presents his compositional conceits as realized
by a gathering of kindred musical spirits. That includes crossing
paths with ace bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Matt Wilson, as well
as, trumpeter Ron Miles, a long-time colleague who recorded on Hess’
very first album in 1988.
Hess has pursued a consistent set of compositional concerns. His
music continues to draw its impetus from Bebop, but he stretches
and augments that with more adventurous strategies. I was struck
here that his work often sounds like an extension of Gerry Mulligan’s
1950s groups. “Funhouse” is a prime example. The head
is a cagey reworking of the Blues. It inspires fine solos from Hess,
who demonstrates his affinity for the Swing masters even as he pushes
the music to its limits, and Miles, who unleashes an easy flow of
melody that would do Chet Baker proud and shows a level of technical
skill that puts him on par with any of his trumpet-playing contemporaries.
Throughout the members of the quartet develop the Hess confections
with attention to all their elements.
On “Knitwit for Tara”, Filiano keeps the tune’s simple
motivic underpinnings in play. Hess’ most fully realized piece
is the closer, “Untying the Knot.” The piece over its
9:20 length alternates between a haunting ballad statement, and
a bebopping contrasting statement. Much of that time is devoted
to written lines with Hess and Miles executing tongue-twisting lines
and engaging in a brief canon. When Hess does step forward to extemporize
in ballad mode, he sends his lines spiraling upwards over Filiano’s
arco bass. Just as ambitious, though less successful, is “The
Clef’s Visit Grandma’s.” The programmatic piece devolves
into tongue-in-cheek overblowing, certainly the most difficult kind
of overblowing to execute. All and all, this is a worthy addition
to Hess’ impressive discography.
- David Dupont
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