Matt Dwonszyk
Live at the Sidedoor
The title of bassist Matt Dwonszyk's third album proves this album was recorded at Old Lyme, Connecticut's Side Door, but the tenor saxophone/trumpet melody of "Morning Dreams" could have come from the Village Gate in the early '60s, following a modern double-stop bass groove that launches it. The stop-start section of "Stage Dive" also has a punchy score that evokes prime-era Horace Silver. Saxophonist Matt Knoegel even squeezes in a quote from Silver's "Stop Time" for cred. The audience seems to like it, based on the somewhat excessive "woo"s that come during this track.
Dwonszyk - last seen in these parts as a member of saxophonist Julieta Eugenio's trio - has known the members of his own quintet since as far back as high school, in some cases. All attended the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz in Hartford, where they all developed some serious chops. On first blush, they seem locked into a certain period of hard bop: the time before the popularity of "The Sidewinder" required every such quintet to include at least one funky blues or boogaloo on their album. They play no boogaloos here but their bop is pretty hard.
Yet, halfway through the 10-song set, things shift. First Dwonszyk presents a one-chorus reading of "Gloomy Sunday," plucking the haunting melody with drama. Instead of having the band join him for a full version, it acts as an interlude to his own "Ms. Smith," a moody ballad where his original gift for melody comes out. "Billy's Den" continues by building suspense with a chromatic riff that gets devoured by Knoegel and trumpeter Josh Breneau (who seems to borrow that "Stop Time" lick this time).
By the time they get to "Alexandre the Great" Knoegel really starts to show his own voice and ideas. Pianist Taber Gable follow suits in "Mode for Rene," pounding the keys not like McCoy Tyner, but in his own way, closing things with an indication that original voices are coming out in this group. Upon return listens more original subtleties - like the way Dwonszyk and Gable launch the first track - come out a little more.
At times, the hard bop setting feels comfortable for the group. Sure that template is a good one, and learning those classic nuances takes some serious brain power. But it's also important to hear players take those lessons and develop them further. Dwonszyk and his band have the Silver/Jazz Messengers ideas down. It will be interesting to see if they follow the lead of groups like the Cookers, who expand the comfort zone of straight ahead blowing.
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