Some dogmatists in the jazz world would have us believe that improvisers have to record a lot of overdone standards in order to prove that they are legitimate. Such dogma is mindless; while standards can be great for practicing, there is no law stating that jazzmen are obligated to record a lot of them -- or that original material cannot dominate their albums. To his credit, trumpeter John McNeil does most of the writing himself on
Brooklyn Ritual, a 1997 date that he co-leads with reedman Kenny Berger (who is heard on baritone sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet). All of the musicians on this CD are New York residents; that is true of McNeil and Berger as well as trombonist John Mosca, bassist Dean Johnson, and drummer
Steve Johns. The only well-known standard that this pianoless quintet interprets is
Ary Barroso's "Brazil"; McNeil is the composer on decent post-bop pieces that range from the melancholy "One Last Goodbye" and the angular "Strictly Ballroom" to the intriguing "Doo-Wop," which manages to combine doo wop elements with the intellect of
Miles Davis' 1960s groups. Doo wop, of course, was never meant to be intellectual -- it thrived on simplicity -- and McNeil's ability to fuse doo wop with something totally different speaks well of the Davis-influenced trumpeter.
Brooklyn Ritual isn't a masterpiece, but it's a likable post-bop effort that will appeal to those who have a taste for the cerebral. ~ Alex Henderson