Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2021

Personnel - Chet Doxas: tenor saxophone; Ethan Iverson: piano; Thomas Morgan: bass.

10 enchanting compositions inspired by spiritual connections are what Montreal-born, Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Chet Doxas, a Juno-award winner who moves elastically between tradition and innovation, offers us on You Can’t Take It With You. The album, presented in a drummer-less trio format with the assistance of pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Thomas Morgan, emerged after the pianist Carla Bley had encouraged Doxas to form his own trio when he mentioned how inspiring her work with Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard had been for him over the years.

The title track opens with a frank bass statement before segueing to a bluesy, swinging motion. Iverson’s piano work is impeccably witty in the numerous evocations of jazz tradition while Doxas’ melodies surface with compulsively lilting ideas.

“Lodestar” is a dedication to saxophonist Lester Young, here praised by his rhythmic expertise via insistent pedals, looped rhythmic figures that change key and stunning prepared piano. Except for the latter aspect, the trio also remains anchored to this aesthetic on “Part of a Memory”.

There are more dedications on the album: “Cheryl and George” pays tribute to Doxas’ parents using the chord changes of “Body and Soul” - you’ll rejoice with the multiphonic intonation of the tenor intro as well as with the enigmatic atmospheres that lead to a collectively improvised passage. “Up There in the Woods” celebrates the iconic guitarist Jim Hall while providing gleeful amusement via bright bopish lines and that slight Latin undercurrent that stresses the color of the main theme. On the meditative “All the Roads”, it’s TV host Fred Rogers’ non-speech at the time of his award reception that encourages the trio to make its point clear with earnest bowed bass, crestfallen piano and a sensitive horn temperament.

I couldn’t fail to mention “Twelve-Foot Blues”, which besides combining the ingratiating familiarity of the blues with the trio’s propensity for exploration, also has Iversen quoting “I Got Rhythm” at the end of his solo.

What I really like here is the group’s capacity to eschew the typical saxophone trio hierarchy. All members are given equal importance by playing the roles of texture builders and inventive improvisers.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - You Can’t Take It with You ► 03 - Cheryl and George ► 09 - All the Roads

Label: Loyal Label, 2019

Personnel - Chet Doxas: tenor saxophone; Jacob Sacks: piano; Zack Lober: bass; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums.

Landline consists of a stellar crew of four contemporary bandleaders and improvisers, who take their compositional prowess to another level with a new challenging concept envisioned for their self-titled debut album. The process, based on the popular broken telephone game, has each member - saxophonist Chet Doxas, pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Zack Lober, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza - sending written notes to one of his bandmates, who has two weeks to work on it as he pleases and pass it along to the next member and so on. Each musician may ignore, alter, or maintain what was written. This well-prepared yet full of freedom process combines composition and improvisation in a totally different way and the result is 12 not-too-long episodes revealing strong capacity of invention and tightness.

The titles were given according to the final product and “Michael Attias”, the opening piece, couldn’t be more appropriate since the sax-piano unisons hold that curious ambiguity so characteristic of the aforementioned alto sax player. Snare drum assertiveness, cymbal color, and a bass pedal, here sustaining echoed phrases professed by Doxas and Sacks, are transported to the following tune, “Modern Jazz”, whose swift lines and pungent accents confer it a rock energy. The bass is then loosened to groove along recurrent expressive sax melodies soaked in chromaticism, while the entangling piano comping is fundamental to attain a perfect atmosphere.

A sheer vitality is also observed in other highlights such as “Feel the Bernstein”, which adheres to a freshly swinging mobility; the pop/rock-inflected “Flim Flam”, played with gorgeous accentuations and slight angular playfulness; “Yup”, whose disorienting tempo and contrasting timbres are complemented with absorbing individual statements from bass (introductory section), sax and piano; and “After The Money”, a successful crossing between the bluesy modal post-bop of Andrew Hill and the rock energy of Beat Happening, declared under an encouraging rhythmic thrust attributable to a dance floor.

There are also slow-moving chapters counterbalancing the more energetic ones. Examples are “Twelve Years”, which consolidates a dismal melody, continual cymbal effervescence, and dark chordal work; “Crystalline”, an exercise in piano minimalism with glacial moments and silences; and the vague “Shiny Things”, which meditates through popping sax sounds, sparse piano activity, snare drum calls, and moody bass notes.

Told half-and-half by Sacks and Doxas, “An Anecdote Regarding Anthony Braxton” climaxes in an ultimate collective laugh that closes out the recording with a bright touch of humor.

You’ll find immersive moods and textures on Landline informing us that these guys’ music is never clumsy or forced. Their big sound, open aesthetic, and compositional variety are great part of the appeal.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Michael Attias ► 02 - Modern Jazz ► 11 - After The Money