Kind Folk

Darren Johnston
Life in Time
Origin Records 82839

Putting their own stamps on simple brass/reeds/bass and drums music are two quartets whose original work doesn’t stray too far from the mainstream. A tale of two cities, Life in Time matches Ontario-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter Darren Johnston, who plays with the likes of Michael Formanek and Anna Weber with three Chicago-based musicians who often perform together: saxophonist/clarinetist Geof Bradfield, bassist Clark Sommers and Dana Hall, who also gig with locals like Kurt Elling and Mike Allemana. More diverse geographically, Kind Folk consists of trumpeter/flugelhornist John Raymond, who teaches at Indiana University;  drummer Colin Stranahan, Israeli-born bassist Noam Wiesenberg and saxophonist Alex LoRe from the New York area, each of whom has worked with the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Wendel and Dr. Lonnie Smith.

Interestingly enough Rosenwinkel’s “Mr. Hope”, one of the CD’s few non-originals brings a bounce to the session with forward sliding motion and a well-paced double bass solo. Wiesenberg’s string strokes also set up “Power Fall”, an andante romp, which moves through undulating horn lines to a brassy fanfare finally aligned with the saxophonist for high-pitched affiliation. Expressing his skills in a different tempo, Raymond allies a floating tone with a shaking Baroque-style head that is kept from being too precious by LoRe’s extended reed pulls on “Sweet Spot”. Overall that title could serve as a description of the entire session. The quartet members work to attain a sweet sport of collective music making and don’t stay too far from it during the album’s nine tunes. Still, the concluding title track, with its beautiful horn obbligatos and fluid but limited motion is the apt title for the disc. Everything is acceptable and well played but a few wanders into high-pitched or more extended note patterns would have added extra oomph the proceedings.

Perhaps it’s the non-academic experimentation Johnson internalized during his two decades in the Bay area or that the Chicago trio members play together so often, but while as unfussy and linear as the other CD, Life in Time offers a more varied program. There are quitter tracks as well, intersecting reed and brass expressions and the rhythm section often moves in lockstep, but each player has room to maneuver. For instance Sommers’ rumbles and strums add brightness to the balladic tone of “Lost and Found”, which is otherwise given over to mellow trumpet grace notes and low-pitched tenor sax smears. Meanwhile Hall’s syncopation that’s all nerve beats and rat-tat-tats enlivens the title track to such an extent that the feeling is of updated Dixieland. Johnson’s portamento slide to upsurging triplets and Bradfield’s snarling split tones help deconstruct the exposition however, confirming its modernism with bent-note concordance.

Bradfield is a fine foil for Johnson, His tenor work is Free Bop-affiliated, with traces of updated Hank Mobley or Sonny Rollins. In fact he completes Johnson’s undulating theme on “The Color Of The Wall Of The Room That Reminded Me” with a quote from “East Broadway Rundown” after skittering and scooping tones, sliding up the scale without a note out of place. He meets the trumpeter’s bright linear Roy Eldridge-like brass breaks with a wiggling soprano sax line on “Little Gold Fish” so that the tune toughens without losing its linearity. Meanwhile his chalumeau register  bass clarinet surges on “Intention and Commitment” widen the trumpeter’s initial plunger tones into new harmonizes that realize the head’s horizontal promise, confirming it with a second reed riff.

When not in intertwined concordance with Bradfield, trumpet shakes and smears are often doubled by sophisticated bass string comping, with slurred triplets and power thumps  investing expositions with more sass and slashes. Portamento slides emphasize beauty in some of Johnston’s solos but strained stratification keeps many expositions spiky, especially when clarion tones are harmonized with reed snarls.

Never venturing too far out, both quartets showcase notable mainstream writing and improvising, though one is more invigorating.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Head: 1. Where Am I ? 2. Power Fall 3. Mantrois 4. Around, Forever 5. Mr. 6. Between The Bars 7. Distant Signal 8. Sweet Spot 9. Head Towards The Center

Personnel: Head: John Raymond (trumpet and flugelhorn); Alex LoRe (alto saxophone); Noam Wiesenberg (bass) and Colin Stranahan (drums)

Track Listing: Life: 1. Asherah 2. Little Gold Fish 3. Intention and Commitment 4. Life In Time 5. Lost and Found 6. Shade 7. Guimaraes 8. Locomotive Sunflower 9. The Color Of The Wall Of The Room That Reminded Me 10. Song For Kamala

Personnel: Life: Darren Johnston (trumpet): Geof Bradfield (tenor and soprano sax and bass clarinet); Clark Sommers (bass) and Dana Hall (drums)