In what turns out to be an fascinating mix of old and new, young American trumpet and flugelhorn player Brian Groder has teamed up with the legendary Sam Rivers for an intriguing mix of jazz styles for Groder's fourth album Torque. Groder's own style tends into the avant-garde and progressive jazz styles, though he avoids the noisy wailing usually associated with modern jazz, sticking to clear trumpet lines and subdued rhythms. Adding in Sam Rivers and his trio turns out to be a nice move. Rivers, who has played with the likes of Dave Holland, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Herbie Hancock, just to name a few, gives Groder's off-beat deliver a solid skeleton to base his music around. The trio is rock solid throughout the album, with drummer Anthony Cole especially, chiming out tactful drumming that adds but never overshadows the other players. Rivers plays sax through most of the album, but shines on the flute in the more experimental tracks “Behind the Shadows Parts 1 and 2”. Overall, this is a good release, but I get the sense that both Groder and Rivers hold back a bit to make the whole sound more than the sum of the parts. Not a bad thing per se, but a track or two of real break-out bebop would fit right into the rest of this album.

By Steve Marlow
Dec 2, 2008