Label: Self released, 2025
Personnel - Sean Imboden: tenor and soprano saxophone, composition, direction // Woodwinds: Matt Pivec (alto, soprano, flute); LaMont Webb (alto, flute); Mark O'Connor (tenor, soprano); Cecily Terhune (tenor); Evan Drybread (baritone, bass clarinet) // Brass: Clark Hunt, John Raymond, Scott Belk, Kent Hickey (trumpet, flugelhorn); Tucker Woerner, Andrew Danforth, Chaz Rhodes (trombone) // Rhythm Section: Chris Pitts (piano); Joel Tucker (guitar); Rich Dole, Nick Tucker (bass); Cassius Goens (drums).
Indianapolis-based saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Sean Imboden returns to creative music after years playing in Broadway shows and touring. His 18-piece large ensemble, assembled in 2017, demonstrates remarkable cohesion in five original tracks brimming with bold ideas.
Communal Heart, whose title pays homage to the band itself and its origins, opens with the swirling, kaleidoscopic “Fire Spirit”, whose sense of urgency and striking energy is palpable in its straight eight feel. The dynamics shift throughout, veering into soaringly atmospheric passages before becoming richly cinematic. The solos feature trumpeter John Raymond, followed by Imboden on tenor, who declaims graciously over layers of woodwinds and brass, supported by a funky guitar strut as rhythmic foundation.
“Dance Inquiry” is a breezy folk dance in five, spotlighting Imboden’s woody soprano sound alongside trombonist Andrew Danforth, while “Someone to Watch Over Us”, featuring Matt Pivec on alto saxophone, offers a hopeful response to the tumultuous political times we live in today, with finely layered sounds.
The challenges of following a creative musical path are numerous, but so are the rewards. Two pieces where that sensation is evident are “Certified Organic”, which, adhering to the fusion’s genre mentality and boosted by guitarist Joel Tucker’s fantastic sound and articulation, feels like a boost of vitamins; and “Portal Passage”, a Dave Holland-like number in seven, offering shifting moods for the soloists—in this case tenorist Mark O’Connor, pianist Chris Pitts, and a conjoint operation by baritonist Evan Drybread and trumpeter Kent Hickey. It concludes with a beautiful solo piano section.
For Imboden, the transformative experience of opening himself to new scenarios yields productive results, as carefully selected elements overlap and intersect to form colorful patterns. This is a solid big band jazz release that confirms Imboden as an interesting composer to follow.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Fire Spirit ► 03 - Certified Organic ► 05 - Portal Passage