This is an exploration of the cool jazz movement from some 50 years later.
Brent Jensen studied for a time under
Lee Konitz, and is here accompanied by three quarters of the
Acoustic Jazz Quartet (the missing member being guitarist
Jamie Findlay). Tenor sax accompaniment is provided by
David Sills (a student of
Gary Foster) and the songs tend toward the realm of
Lennie Tristano (although staying piano-less in full cool jazz mode). The roots of the cool jazz movement are held up by way of a couple of nods to
Lester Young in his "Two For Prez," as well as reference to his techniques in "Lady Be Good." A couple of originals by
Sills creep in, laying new melodies over chord changes from old standards, as "Deep Sleep" makes use of "You Stepped out of a Dream" and "Where's It At?" uses the changes from "What Is This Thing Called Love." The bulk of the pieces come from the classic of cool jazz: the 1953 meeting of
Konitz,
Gerry Mulligan, and
Chet Baker. One more piece comes directly from
Tristano, and
Lanny Morgan's "Friends Again" (the impetus for the album) makes an appearance, as well. There isn't a huge amount of exploration beyond the levels set by the old masters here, but the performances are quite good within the capacity to which they aspire. The look back is refreshing in a time when jazz is dominated by smooth, and the players run through the old songs wonderfully. Pick up the old masters of the form first, but add this one to the newer end of the collection.