The Invisible Music label continues to bring before the public talented jazz musicians who are either natives of Maine or have emigrated and now live there. The result is that very good performers who otherwise might not have gotten the opportunity are being brought to the jazz public's attention. Guitarist
Mark Kleinhaut is one of the beneficiaries of this label's endeavors. A graduate of New Jersey's Rutgers University,
Kleinhaut relocated to Maine in 1988 where he mostly works as a solo jazz artist as well as with other top jazz musicians from the New England area. On his first solo disk for Invisible Music,
Kleinhaut has chosen to go with a set made up entirely of originals, ten of his own and "Interlucent" by Josh Davis and Phil Verrill. Limiting the content of an album to unfamiliar originals, especially for a maiden voyage, is risky. Typically, listeners want to hear something familiar so they can compare it with interpretative approaches taken by other musicians who have also recorded the tune. Nevertheless,
Kleinhaut's
Amphora is more successful than most who have taken this route. First, there is more than sufficient variety in his compositions to grab and hold the listener's attention. Second, the tunes allow him to show off his considerable technical and improvising skills.
Kleinhaut follows the path forged by such straight-ahead jazz guitarists as
Barney Kessel and Ted Dunbar, to whom this album is dedicated. If one is looking for a session dominated by rock fusion, look elsewhere.
Kleinhaut's compositions offer something for just about everybody. "A Million Notes From Now" in medium tempo spotlights Josh Davis' cleanly plucked bass behind
Kleinhaut's quiet, ruminative explorations. "Miss Knows (It All)" is a comforting bossa nova while "Suki's Web" creates the image of what it's like to be enticed into a labyrinth of special delights. Josh Davis' bowing skills come into play on a dark, somewhat moody "Illadroly." The musical ambience is happily brightened by the swinging "Another Spring."
Thomas Snow's bubbling piano gets a lot of solo time on this track. "Interlucent" creates an image of the exotic orient as Phil Verrill's softly clashing cymbals punctuate
Kleinhaut's guitar. The title tune "Amphora," done acoustically, recalls
Django Reinhardt's gypsy influenced playing and is a highlight of the album. This album would have been well served with additional lighter numbers given the intense passion of most of the cuts. Although it gets somewhat heavy, this first album with
Kleinhaut as a leader deserves attention and is recommended. ~ Dave Nathan