Tony Guerrero
Blue Room
Charleston Square Recordings
www.tonyguerro.com

Nordic Connect featuring Ingrid Jensen
Spirals
ArtistShare Recordings
www.ingridjensen.com
By George W. Harris

Here are two relatively under-the-radar trumpeters that, for completely opposite reasons, deserve a couple of listens for their divergent approach to this thing we call modern jazz.

For those fans of mainstream bebop, grab your arms around this disc, as Guerrero leads a team with regulars Llew Matthews/p, Dave Enos/b and Matt Johnson/dr along with guests Jamie Findlay/g, Doug Webb-Robert Kyle/sax and Joe Bagg/B3 on this swinging set of acoustic swing. Guerrero’s got a honey of a tone that you’ll never tire of, and he uses it on ditties like “It’s only a Paper Moon” or the gently driving “Black Orpheus.” He knows how to go bel canto on ballads, as “Over The Rainbow” and the piano duet on “My Romance” will have you throwing roses on stage. Mostly songs you know, but his originals like “Carumba” with Hammond and flute will get your ears perked up. Gonna love this guy!

While Guerrero honorably spotlights the tradition of jazz, Ingrid Jensen’s band (with Christine Jensen/sax, Maggi Olin/p-key, Jon Wikan/dr and Mattias Welin/b) take music to its next station. Neither cacophonically experimental nor navel gazingly explorative, this intuitively creative team works on something mostly ignored on modern ears, namely dynamics. The rich and idiosyncratic colors of sound rise and fall in depth and volume in intriguingly dramatic fashion . “66 Mike” has an Afro-South American lilt with just enough Scandinavian samplings to keep you on your toes, while “Earth Sighs” hints at early fusion, yet while grasping for the moon. Jensen’s horn is as crisp as a spring breeze, and she floats over melodies and grooves like “Brejk a Leg” like a pelican in search of a meal. Astoundingly attractive sounds.