Customer Reviews

Out of the Blue

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On violinist Christian Howes's journeyman disc, the blues is his conduit to jazz, rock, funk, fusion and even touches of the avante-garde. Not without some stylistic hiccups, it remains an impressive outing.

The Ohio native apparently came to jazz late in life after a career in classical music. You'd never be able to tell, as his thick, gritty tone and swingingly dissonant postbop lines sound like second nature. Yet his route to jazz through jamming at the local church is clear, for example on the gospel cum Motown vocal "Seek and Ye Shall Find", or the smoky midnight blues cover of Carla Bley's "Sing Me Softly of the Blues". Here as on other tracks the solos develop into dialog between Howes, Bobby Ford's earthy organ and the blues-drenched guitar of Robben Ford. Occasionally the wash of electric sounds can get a little thick, for example during the the generic fusion exploits of "Bobby's Bad" or the leader's title track, where the electric violin's synthetic lines and twangy, distortion-laden guitar seem more like effect than affect (a shame, the tune itself is beautiful). During these tracks I missed the lucid, driving lines found in Chick Corea's homage to Wayne Shorter "Fingerprints" (featuring alternate pianist Tamir Hendelman's irresistably swinging lines) or the tightly focused playing on Horace Silver's "Cape Verdean Blues". Howes is a confident, imaginative jazz player who is clearly inspired from outside jazz. It wasn't always my cup of tea, but taste aside Howes draws on this variety of influences to create a highly personal, engaging style.

Special mention should be made of drummer of Joel Rosenblatt, whose creativity and swing both ease and boot this disc perfectly the whole way through. "Gumbo Klomp" has a strutting New Orleans parade beat that will make you want to jump up and shout, and his interplay with Hendelman on "Verdrean" is a joy to hear.

Based on this sophomore outing, I am eager for Christian Howes's next release. Definitely pick this one up, even if (like me) you have more conservative tastes you'll be more than satisfied.