The trombone was one of the primary instruments in jazz during the big-band era, with leaders like
Tommy Dorsey and
Glenn Miller wielding it, but it seemed to lose ground to the trumpet and the saxophone thereafter. On his debut solo album,
Don Immel, a trombonist with a lengthy classical résumé who also likes to play jazz, challenges that trend and reminds listeners of the intimate, burnished sound of which the instrument is capable. He also tackles the barrier between classical and jazz music; while these tunes fit into the "smooth jazz" category, they really aren't "contemporary jazz," a phrase that tends to be used interchangeably with "smooth jazz."
Immel's jazz style is a throwback to the eclectic era of the '60s, with elements of fusion and, especially toward the end of the album, Third Stream jazz.
Immel's is the only horn in arrangements full of guitars, keyboards, and percussion. His playing tends to emphasize the vocal qualities of the trombone, as when he essentially duets with singer Jake Bergevin on the
Sting-like "Fool's Full Quiver." The music is unfailingly melodic and rhythmically interesting. It also sounds like it could have been made 40 years before the release date, but that's no crime in jazz.
Immel manages to suggest that the possibilities of both post-bop jazz and his chosen instrument are far from exhausted. ~ William Ruhlmann