Mosaic – Unsaid, Undone – Snack Records 0006, 52:10 ****:
(Matt Belzer – alto & soprano sax, clarinet & bass clarinet, alto flute; Ned Judy – piano, keyboards; Larry Melton – acoustic & electric bass; Mark Merella – drums, timbales & percussion; David Font – congas, bongo & percussion)
The star here is Matt Belzer, leader, main composer, and most prominent soloist. Though he’s proficient on a variety of wind instruments, I greatly prefer him on alto sax. Check out his burning/lilting work on “Sightseeing,” the seldom-recorded Wayne Shorter tune, which is also the longest, groovin’est, and most satisfying tune on the disc. Belzer also makes a strong impression on clarinet on the title cut, “Unsaid, Undone,” the most “out” of the numbers, and also the most interesting, with its angular melody, fidgety percussion, and spooky keyboard voicings.
Ned Judy on piano and keyboards also shines. Note his harmonically rich and rhythmically sophisticated solo on “Unsaid, Undone,” the driving, weighty, almost plodding pianisms he unleashes for “Knew One,” and intelligent comping on the burner, “Speak Down.” His deft Rhodes solo on “Hikaru’s Dance” glides and capers melding Oriental and European sensibilities on this beguiling waltz, punctuated by apposite percussion courtesy of Merella and Font.
This is one of those discs where it takes a while for the band to get the kinks out and find its groove, but when it does, the payoff is huge. Unsaid, Undone also illustrates one of the great ironies of jazz: to play this music even just competently demands some serious chops and lots of woodshedding; to play it exceptionally requires something approaching genius. Yet, no matter how high the level of pure musical accomplishment, jazz seldom finds itself even on the horizon of popular culture, let alone at its center. These guys play jazz with passion and occasional brilliance. Look for great things in the future if they can manage to survive the vagaries and vicissitudes of the wild and wooly world of jazz.
TrackList:
Seconds Out
Knew One
Hikaru’s Dance
Speak Down
Under the Sun
Sightseeing
Unsaid, Undone
— Jan Dennis
