Fierce
Whirlwind Recordings WR4614
The saxophone trio format is not an easy one, and it’s especially demanding on the saxophonist, but alto player Patrick Cornelius must have been quietly confident, because he has some particularly strong support in the form of double bassist Michael Janisch and drummer Johnathan Blake.
He also calls on valve trombonist Nick Vayenas and tenor player Mark Small on some tracks, and calls it is a Chordless Jazz Ensemble.
Not that you miss the chords – not with this many exciting note lines going on and sometimes funky, sometimes hard-swinging grooves moving it all along.
Cornelius is articulate and plays the kind of improvisations the listener can follow all the way with ease while still enjoying the excitement of the sudden unexpected turn, the sudden fresh and awkward scale or arpeggio. Sometimes he reminds me of Jon Ibaragon but to my ears Cornelius makes more sense, never ending up ensnared in his own tangled patterns. And, of course, Janisch’s own solos, like the one on Hopscotch, for example, are wonders of lithe energy and exuberant articulation. Blake is a wonder – always pushing yet never dominating.
Maybe Steps and Home With You are lovely, more measured and relaxed trio tracks, while Two Seventy-Eight shows Vayenas whipping up a storm. First Dance is a fine example of Cornelius’s writing for the two saxophone quartet. It’s amazing how full this band sounds – I suppose the ear gets used to just three instruments, so when a fourth is added, the palette expands amazingly. In fact, it’s all down to the writing which gives crucial harmonies to the horns to suggest even bigger chords than we’re actually hearing.
Although Patrick Cornelius is based in New York, he has paid visits to Europe and Britain and played at Ronnie Scott’s and the Pizza Express in London, so I’m sure he has some firm fans in this country already. Just as Janisch does.
If you have difficulty finding this disc – it is from a smallish label – buy it direct (from 25 Oct), along with its two predecessors, from www.patrickcornelius.com
