Both a sextet of New York veterans, led by trumpeter extraordinaire Ron Horton, and The Kindness, a quartet of newcomers ensconced in the woods of Idaho, offer musically adventurous and deeply felt recordings.

Ron Horton
A Prayer for Andrew (Newvelle Records)
A review
I first heard trumpeter, arranger, composer Ron Horton in 2006, on Will Holshouser’s lovely album Singing to a Bee, and since then, whenever I’ve seen his name in an album’s credits, I’ve listened. Much like the late Ron Miles, Horton combines technical virtuosity, deep feeling, lyrical expression, and an adventurous musicality in all of his work. Little did I know in 2006 that Horton had already established himself as a top-drawer player on the progressive jazz scene in New York or that he had played in and arranged for the late pianist/composer Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure sextet in the ’90s, including the highly regarded album Dusk. On A Prayer for Andrew, Horton’s own superlative sextet—Horton (trumpet, flugelhorn), Marty Ehrlich (also a veteran of Hill’s sextet; alto sax or bass clarinet on five tracks), John O’Gallagher (alto sax on all others), Marc Mommaas (tenor sax), the late Frank Kimbrough (piano), Dean Johnson (bass), Tim Horner (drums)—works brilliantly through seven of Hill’s compositions and six of Horton’s, which, like Hill’s, exhibit an unorthodox and personal quality.

Complex and challenging, but also accessible and expressive, A Prayer for Andrew is an album to open yourself up to. Its 13 tracks of beautifully shaped compositions and sensitive Horton arrangements offer a wide range of feeling, dazzling performances, and a continuous stream of surprises. There are highlights everywhere, but here are just a few: Horton’s brief title track opens the proceedings with a ceremony of the heart, a warm expression of gratitude, deepened by Horton’s rich tone. “Erato,” Hill’s tribute to the god of poetry, possesses a strong spine and glides effortlessly into a heart-swelling sax section. Kimbrough burrows into a muscular exploration of Hill’s “Venture Inward” with a coefficient of Monk-ish funk, and O’Gallagher’s stunning solo finds the song’s center. Horton’s “Home” marries African American and Celtic influences, with beautiful contributions from Horton and Kimbrough, and the band delightfully sashays homeward at the end. Hill’s feral “Dusk,” with its jagged cross-rhythms, reminds us that that’s when the predators begin to stir. Horton’s 3-D “Andrew-ology” flows slowly along a deep, underground river of mystery. Hill’s “ML” works through some challenging sections to deliver us to a soaring conclusion. Horton’s jumpy, noirish “Hill Country” opens and closes with a walking bass line, swinging its way through concise solos from one and all—including an airborne solo from Kimbrough—to a stirring three-horn improv. Try counting Hill’s rollicking “15/8,” I dare you, where the horns almost seem to be in a different meter from the rhythm section, with Horner’s cerebral syncopation. Hill’s “Tough Love” introduces equally tricky rhythmic qualities, with the dreamy horns floating over a driving rhythm section, and near the end, Kimbrough breaks into a romantic swell that he abruptly follows up with a quote from “Fiddlesticks”!

All the players exhibit exceptional listening skills and make signal contributions, but I must take a moment to applaud Frank Kimbrough in particular. Like the air under a bird’s wing, he is as essential as he is almost, at times, invisible. Without him, the whole thing might collapse. What ears the man has, and what a fearless improviser. Just check out the freewheeling piano under the horns at the end of “Home.”

Kudos to Ron Horton, his exceptional band, and the supporting crew—producers Elan Mehler, who wrote the excellent album notes, and JC Morriseau; Max Ross, who recorded the album; mixing engineer Michael Marciano; and masterer Marc Urselli—for an invigorating jazz release of the first water.

The Kindness
The Kindness (City Creek Records)
A review
Musician, composer, educator Jonathan Armstrong, whom I first encountered as a member of the extraordinary quartet Slumgum and who has been teaching at Idaho State University for the last few years, alerted me to a new label, City Creek Records, that he runs along with his commercial music students. The label produces music by the students, faculty, and associated artists, and Armstrong presented me with an eponymous new release from the Boise-based trio The Kindness, which includes Justin Nielsen (piano, Rhodes, prepared piano), Jens Kuross (drums), Aaron Miller (bass). Armstrong said it was an innovative and exciting modern jazz release, and I have to agree with him. Sturdy and expressive compositions are matched by sturdy and expressive performances, but what distinguishes the album is the fourth input: the detailed and extensive postproduction effects created by Kuross, which define the space in which the trio is playing, and deepen and expand the emotional impact. Overall, the effects are well matched to the material, though they could be dialed back here and there where they interfere with rather than enhance the music, as on the track “Tiny Warriors.” Highlights include the spare, sensitive ballad “I Can’t Take You with Me,” which is worth the price of admission; the straight-ahead midtempo “Suffealing,” which induces finger snapping and goes pleasantly around the bend; the glittering “For Gary,” with its lovely bowed bass; and “The Path,” which adds a touch of gospel and funk to the affair. After a delicate and somber opening, the trio finds a rock-inflected close suitable for a colosseum on “How Did the Rose,” and on “Faithless,” sorrow descends into anthemic outrage. The Kindness charts new sonic territory that effectively combines acoustic performances and electronic effects in the service of deep feeling.

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© 2023 Mel Minter