Trombonist
Nick Vayenas has a modern and progressive jazz aesthetic in his soul, accented by youth, futuristic sounds, and fueled by a fertile imagination. The signposts of where he is coming from lie in the stances of contemporary icons -- the Latin insignias of
Conrad Herwig, the harmonic stylings of
Robin Eubanks, and the electronic experiments of
Julian Priester. For this, his debut recording, he has chosen potent sidemen like drummer
Kendrick Scott and keyboardist
Aaron Parks to craft and shape his identity into this music. But fear not -- some hard swinging jazz is here too, as the bopping influence of
Curtis Fuller is heard on "Odeon," supported by a small horn section and
Scott's strident drumming. Post-bop and fusion collide during "The Essence," with
Parks on Fender Rhodes painting clear broad melodic strokes with
Vayenas. A combination of New Orleans swing, New York certainty, and
Sun Ra like cerebral spaciousness makes "Assembly Line" traditional and modern at once, while the hip, contemporary "Voyager" dangles synth with piano and trombone on a dance groove edge. The evidence of
Priester's visage via his great ECM CD
Love, Love comes out on the pensive, reverberating title cut featuring the wordless vocals of
Gretchen Parlato, while the stealth, carefully rendered "Dissolution" offers a similar stance sans singing, plus harmonic overtones.
Vayenas further offers an ECM drift on the low level ascending and descending dynamics of the lovely piece "Along the Way," and breezes through "Soaring." While others in the band play with effects,
Vayenas, whose sound is quite mature, seems to prefer a relatively unfiltered and non-processed 'bone. An album worth exposing oneself and listening to more than once, it's a valiant opening salvo for a new musician on the scene whose star should rise quickly.