Fred Hess - How 'Bout Now

[Nate Dorward]

Thought I'd post a little on this one, in part because I've been following Hess's releases for the last two-three years, since The Long & Short of It, & think this is the best so far; & in part because while I've not always been a big fan of Ron Miles, the trumpeter on all Hess's recent albums, his work on the new one is really superb. He's on cornet this time, which may have something to do with it--less of that weeny Milesian fragility, more of a poke-in-your-eye sound. The new one has Hess's regular quartet with Miles, Ken Filiano & Matt Wilson, but adds Mark Harris on alto sax (though he doesn't get a lot of solo space--a bit like George Barrow on Blues on the Abstract Truth....?). Hess's writing seems to get more & more intricate with every album--he writes elaborate contrapuntal things that involve all the instruments (including the drums). Best example is "Finding the Evidence", such an intricate & oblique take on Monk's "Evidence" that I could barely trace the relationship to the original theme until the end of the performance. Anyway, an album for those who like to hear Ornetteish free playing filtered through the cool contrapuntal sound of say Konitz/Marsh or Mulligan/Baker--though it's quite spiky at times too (& interestingly enough, Wilson seems to be playing off military march rhythms at times). The one bad thing about the disc is the dodgy cover-art & back-cover shot: could be a little prettier.

Anyway, a strong disc. The more heated moments here make me kind of hope that Hess will skip the studio next time & release a live gig--it'd be especially nice to hear the band stretch out (he keeps the tracks relatively brief and under control).