Trumpeter Russ Johnson is going to be unfairly saddled with the sort of curse that will end up befalling many of his kind. As a white male, classically trained trumpet player specializing in a sort of Democratically multi-cultural jazz, he joins the ranks of Ralph Alessi, Dave Ballou and Ron Horton as post-Douglas jazz trumpet players. As good as all of these artists are, this is something they're all going to have to contend with, the endless comparisons Ö as long as Dave Douglas continues to dominate the jazz polls.

So what to make of Johnson's debut album then? It is as auspicious a debut as one could hope to hear from an artist as young as he. Americana influenced melodies like "Saguache" cross paths with Eastern tinged tunes, such as the aptly titled "Indonesian Folk Song" and the elastic free-funk of "Rapid Comfort." Grinding rubato grooves commingle with post-Ornette harmonies on "The Loper" and a stop-start bop line pummels on "Figuratively Speaking."

Johnson's articulation is spot on, but he can bend a phrase or smear a note as emotively as any of his contemporaries. Alto saxophonist John O'Gallagher releases sinuous lines that sound like Kenny Garrett channeling Julius Hemphill. Erstwhile bassist Kermit Driscoll finally reappears on the scene in telepathic union with drummer Mark Ferber. The rhythm section accompaniment is phenomenal, indicative of all the qualities that make for great jazz = great listeners. The band sounds so in-tune with each other that they seem capable of taking the pieces in any direction.

Save Big would be an impressive title in anyone's discography, but for an artist whose limited recorded output mainly consists of co-leadership in the (admittedly excellent) Other Quartet, this debut album introduces Russ Johnson as an artist to keep an ear on for the future.

Troy Collins
April 14, 2005