The unlikely pairing of vanguard trombonist
Roswell Rudd and folk singer/songwriter
Heather Masse is, on the surface at least, provocative. The two met during a Prairie Home Companion radio broadcast and discovered they lived only a few miles apart. They undertook a series of informal recording sessions -- with bassist
Mark Helias and guitarist Ralf Sturn -- that evolved into
August Love Song.
Rudd draws on his love of Dixieland, pre-bop swing, and the influence of
Kid Ory and
Jack Teagarden.
Masse -- a member of
the Wailin' Jennys -- is possessed of a glorious, disciplined alto. She's revealed her considerable jazz chops before with 2013's beautiful Lock My Heart with
Dick Hyman in 2013.
Masse and
Rudd contribute a pair of tunes each; the trombonist's wife-manager,
Verna Gillis, also wrote a pair. The balance is comprised of ingenious, celebratory readings of jazz standards. The reading of
Gigi Gryce's sprightly "Social Call" is in a class with
Betty Carter's version with pianist
Ray Bryant.
Masse's elastic phrasing adds another level of depth and swing. The singer's "Love Song for August" commences as an a cappella folk song that evolves into a slow jazz blues with
Helias walking the bassline. Sturn's colorful playing creates a bottom for
Rudd, who responds to
Masse with boozy improvised fills. The trombonist's "Winter Blues" commences with a brief avant solo from
Helias before referencing
Burt Bacharach's melody for "The Look of Love" and transforms into a languid, airy blues with muted trombone -- and gorgeous lyrics. Sturn's solid rhythmic playing frees
Masse to engage in inventive scat-singing through most of her range.
Rudd quotes "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" in his rowdy solo intro to
Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo," which evolves into a sultry vocal and trombone duet.
Rudd's syncopated playing punctuates
Masse's lines with warmth, wry humor, and rhythmic acumen.
Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma" is equal parts jazz-pop ballad, folk song, and Mexican ranchera (the latter thanks in large part to Sturn's canny sense of harmony and rhythm).
Rudd's "Open House" is a finger-poppin'
Hot Club of France-styled swinger, while
Masse's dark, Americana-tinged "Blackstrap Molasses" is the first half of a medley that gets transformed effortlessly into "Old Devil Moon" with an excellent
Helias solo and scatting.
Gillis' "Tova and Kyla Rain" is a country-folk song.
Masse handles its tender melody with soulful authority while
Rudd employs
Teagarden-esque New Orleans R&B in his fills and solo, adding color and texture. The
Gershwins' "Love Is Here to Stay" closes on an ingenious note: the interplay between the principals.
August Love Song's gift is that it feels simultaneously modern and classic. There isn't a hint of nostalgia either (save for the cover that directly evokes the font from the paperback version of Herman Raucher's novel Summer of '42). Ultimately, the sincere desire for collaborative discovery by these players results in sheer delight for the listener. ~ Thom Jurek