On
Sound Emotion, drummer
Jimmy Weinstein moves effortlessly from the inside to the outside and refuses to be confined to either one. An unpredictable collection of avant-garde jazz, fusion and post-bop, this CD certainly isn't nearly as radical as a
Cecil Taylor album, but isn't a conventional hard bop effort either. Forming a pianoless quartet with
Chris Cheek (tenor sax),
Elie Massias (acoustic and electric guitar) and
Masa Kamaguchi (acoustic bass),
Weinstein shows that he isn't afraid to savor the dissonant, chaotic pleasures of "outside" improvisation on "ICSAWTS," "Chevy Chevrolet" and "Fast Blues." But you'll find a much mellower side of this quartet on relaxed, airy offerings like "Her Melancholy Piano," "Under the Bridge," "Ballad" and his interpretation of "I'll Remember April." Depending on his mood,
Weinstein can be congenial, or he can get in your face.
Sound Emotion is a fine album that's anything but one-dimensional.