Home » Jazz Musicians » Josh Rosen Discography

American Waltz

Josh Rosen

Label: Ziggle Zaggle Music
Released: 2009
Views: 2,183

Tracks

American Waltz; Buttah; Happy Cramping; How Do I Know What I Don't Know?; Be A Battery; Old Fashioned; Soupy's Comin' Home; Bulletrain. All compositions by Josh Rosen, except for Happy Cramping (Rosen, Grenadier, Molinari, Pellitteri)

Personnel

Lello Molinari
bass, acoustic
Mick Goodrick
guitar, electric
George Garzone
saxophone, tenor

Album Description

FREE + FORM As 3play+, Grenadier, Rosen, Molinari, and Pellitteri want to play it all. Given the sound of its first track (which is also the title of the album), you'd have every reason to think that 3play+'s debut CD is about to plunge you into Bill Frisell–style Americana. Rolling piano chords, subdued electric guitar, muted trumpet, and that easy waltz tempo set you up for country. But then the next track of American Waltz (ZiggleZaggle Music) starts with a concise off-the-beat drum intro and a jagged unison trumpet/tenor-sax line. Bebop, right? Next up: free-flying trumpet over bass and drums, not a chord progression in sight — free jazz that gets even more tumultuous as the piano comes in. Then a ballad that sounds as if it could come out of the Great American Songbook, that muted trumpet again, a beautifully shaped melody and chord progression, ripe for lyrics. And that's not to mention the 20-minute closing track, the first 10 minutes or so of which are completely free before it settles into a funk-blues vamp. So, where are we? There's no telling, and that's how 3play+ like it. When I confront 3play+ pianist/composer Josh Rosen with my confusion over coffee at a Fenway Starbucks, he seems delighted. Not at my confusion, exactly, but at the mix of influences and styles I'm picking up on. "That's what we wanted." Of course, there are practicalities involved in programming an album with a mix of free and straight-ahead and touches of country and folk. "Hardly anyone is up for an hour of free jazz," Rosen concedes. "You have to offer moments of relief." But it's also an honest reflection of the band's æsthetic. Rosen, for one, came up in the '70s, living in New York, partaking heavily of the avant-garde Lower East Side jazz-loft scene while hitting legendary Greenwich Village jazz boîte Bradley's to hear pianists like Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, and Kenny Barron. He took it all in. "I always ask my students," says the Berklee prof, " 'Who did you go to hear this week?' Half the time they just say, 'Oh, we didn't go out.' " And he's incredulous. "That's where you learn! And not just the playing, but the vibe, the interactions, the conversation." Despite their eclectic tastes and often free excursions, this is a band of seasoned pros with a cohesive group identity. On the album, Grenadier's in-the-moment poise and Miles-like lyricism are complemented by guest turns from saxophonist George Garzone and guitar sage Mick Goodrick. At ease with free playing, they all have an affinity for strong forms. And Rosen knows how to write them. Take that second-track bebopper, "Buttah." The melody was inspired by Sonny Rollins's "Oleo," but with the pitches altered so that it would keep moving through different keys, Ornette Coleman style. And if Rosen's comping behind the soloists sounds familiar, that's because it's built on the chord changes of Coltrane's "Giant Steps." "It wasn't until I finished the tune that I realized it was inspired by three saxophonists." That schooled yet heartfelt writing keeps the music resilient over multiple listens — and keeps the players on their toes. And Rosen — who leads the band with Molinari — is always happy to have you recognize the influences. "I love when people can't quite place it and keep saying, "What is that?' " He adds, "I fell in love with free jazz in the '70s, but I've also always had a devotion to and reverence for the tradition." - JON GARELICK, Boston Phoenix


Review


Comments


Tags

More Albums

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Three Moments

Ziggle Zaggle Music
2019

buy

Seasons

Ziggle Zaggle Music
2018

buy

The Music of Paul...

Ziggle Zaggle Music
2018

buy

Brothers

Ziggle Zaggle Music
2016

buy

Sparks

Ziggle Zaggle Music
2016

buy

Instinct

Ziggle Zaggle Music
2012

buy

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.