Sunday, October 2, 2009 Metro prof and sax man Fred Hess trumpets big-band CD JAZZ | BRET SAUNDERS Fred Hess, the Denver saxophonist and Metro State educator, is so pleased with his new big-band CD, "Hold On," that he practically sings when discussing it. "I'm very happy," he says. "I didn't think it could be as good as it is. I was worried if these musicians could play it, but they played superbly." Hess' compositions are complex and sometimes abstract as opposed to the more traditional blues-and ballads-oriented fare. But that doesn't mean that his work isn't easy to absorb. The arrangements are lush, multilayered and, most important, thoroughly enjoyable. In the course of the disc's 77 minutes, sound worlds are opened up through a well-honed collaborative spirit that includes voices as distinctive as trumpeters Ron Miles and Brad Goode, drummer Matt Wilson (himself one of the best current bandleaders in the jazz community) and pianist Marc Sabatella. But it's Hess' saxophone that is springboard to the most creative, fully realized solos on "Hold On." While he has put out a reliable string of admired small group efforts in recent years, his expressiveness really shines in the context of this larger palette. "In the '50s (Hess recently turned 65), I would stand in front of the record player and pretend I was conducting. Then I would pretend to play the solos." More than 50 years later, with the help of the musicians, local conductor Tyler Gilmore, and engineer Colin Bricker, Hess feels like he's finally made the music he's always wanted to create. "You've got to live out your fantasy once in a while," he adds. It's an open question whether the new CD will find the audience it deserves. There are still numerous big bands playing older arrangements of swinging standards (though probably not enough for devotees), but there aren't many larger groups who blaze trails like the Hess project: Boston's Either/Orchestra comes to mind, so do the recent discs under the name of trumpeter Charles Tolliver. "Hold On" features music that recalls the arrangements of Stan Kenton's and Rob McConnell's massive bands as much as it does the wonderfully iconoclastic works of Anthony Braxton (whose "RBHM- KNNK" is covered on the new disc), and that means this is music that doesn't represent any single style. "Are there too many languages? I don't know," Hess adds. "I have an all-purpose language - both inside and out, and these guys (on the CD) play both ways beautifully. I tried to reflect the things I like. We've developed a language that reflects what (John) Coltrane did, and Michael Brecker, too." So "Hold On" contains a lot of music in more ways than one. And Hess has already laid the groundwork for a follow-up, which he plans to record with the group in January. "I'm getting better as time goes on," he says. "I practice every day. If you're going to play with these good guys, you've got to be on your game. And I want to be able to move forward. I feel like there's more to do."