Label: Anzic Records, 2023
Personnel - Sara Caswell: violin, Hardanger d’Amore; Jesse Lewis: guitar; Ike Sturm: bass; Jared Schonig: drums; Chris Dingman: vibraphone (#1,2,5,8).
From the opening selection of The Way to You, violinist Sara Caswell's third album as a leader, we can sense the eclecticism and ambition of a group of qualified musicians. The album is the culmination of a 17-year journey during which she toured/recorded with amazing artists such as Henry Threadgill, Brad Mehldau, Esperanza Spalding, Linda May Han Oh, and Donny McCaslin. She’s also a member of Joseph Brent's 9 Horses trio.
“South Shore”, a composition by the sui-generis trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis, is instigated by jazz-folk contours and a rock music feel, like if Jean-Luc Ponty had joined Sting’s The Police. Vibraphonist Chris Dingman, who sits in on four tracks, exteriorizes thoughts with speed of execution here. His harmonic streams and textures are well integrated with those of guitarist Jesse Lewis and both create one of the most exciting moments on the album when their burning licks and phrases populate guitar-vibraphone tradeoffs on Kenny Barron’s “Voyage”. The post-bop linearity of the theme segues into the swinging amusement of the improvisations.
Other appealing numbers are “Stillness”, an acoustic guitar-driven song with a 3/4 balladic feel (bassist Ike Sturm, who penned it, soars with flexibility); Egberto Gismonti’s “7 Aneis”, an exuberant Brazilian choro with quick changes and a festive disposition; and Tom Jobim’s “O Que Tinha de Ser”, an intimate musical poem where Caswell plays the Hardanger d’Amore, a 10-string Norwegian fiddle able to produce peculiar, resonant tones.
Although expansive in mood and style, I got the sense that a bit more provocation was needed on pieces like “On My Way to You”, a product of French composer Michel Legrand, which moves at a glacial pace; as well as on Caswell’s compositions “Warren’s Way”, an old-timey romantic waltz with hints of Americana dedicated to her partner in life (the drummer Michael W. Davis); and “Spinning”, a gently swaying popish song. Conversely, “Last Call”, which was co-composed with Davis and guitarist Dave Stryker, is the stronger of her originals, benefitting from the electrified bluesy chops and harmonic clusters of Lewis.
Caswell demonstrates her sense of command but some of the material holds her back, resulting in a partially satisfying recording that, being colorful, is not always surprising.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - South Shore ► 02 - Stillness ► 09 - O Que Tinha de Ser