For his first album as a leader,
Fred Forney constructs a melange of sound and expression using a complimentary play list of standards and originals. While the liner notes are silent on this, "Into the Mist" recalls a similarly titled tune by
Bix Beiderbecke ("In a Mist"). Like the
Beiderbecke opus,
Forney recalls the delicate passion heard in music composed by Gabriel Fauré. Ingenious improvision is the name of the game on "The Best Thing for You, Is Me" as
Forney and
Chuck Marohnic exchange ideas on the reconstruction of this ditty's chords. Bop concepts are built into
Forney's "Second Opinion," which serves as the platform for the cutting, hard-nosed tenor sax by
Tony Malaby, which contrasts with
Marohnic's quirky,
Monk-like piano. Like many of the standards on this CD, "It's You or No One" is introduced by playing the melody. Then extemporization takes over as each performer comes in with his unique expression of what this tune means to him. Here
Dom Moio's probing drums get plenty of play as he does his thing without falling into the drummer's trap of becoming repetitive and thus boring. It's refreshing to hear well-worn tunes like "Body and Soul" get a new musical paint job like this group provides. Once more,
Marohnic's piano and
Moio's drums are the rhythmic bookends for
Forney's incisive trumpeting. While most of the tunes are performed within a quartet setting, a full ensemble, including clarinet, bass clarinet, trombone, and French horn show up to do some fine ensemble work on the cleverly titled "My Platelets Are Low." Although
Forney's playing hints at such influences as
Miles Davis,
Chet Baker, and
Freddie Hubbard, it is the purity of tone of
Art Farmer that comes immediately to mind when listening to this relative newcomer to the trumpet brotherhood. This is excellent work by all and is recommended. ~ Dave Nathan