The unlikely pairing of vanguard trombonist
Roswell Rudd
and folk singer/songwriter
Heather Masse
is, on the surface at least, provocative. The two met during a Prairie Home Companion radio broadcast and discovered they lived only a few miles apart. They undertook a series of informal recording sessions -- with bassist
Mark Helias
and guitarist
Ralf Sturn
-- that evolved into
August Love Song
.
Rudd
draws on his love of Dixieland, pre-bop swing, and the influence of
Kid Ory
and
Jack Teagarden
Masse
-- a member of
the Wailin' Jennys
-- is possessed of a glorious, disciplined alto. She's revealed her considerable jazz chops before with 2013's beautiful
Lock My Heart
with
Dick Hyman
in 2013.
contribute a pair of tunes each; the trombonist's wife-manager,
Verna Gillis
, also wrote a pair. The balance is comprised of ingenious, celebratory readings of jazz standards. The reading of
Gigi Gryce
's sprightly "Social Call" is in a class with
Betty Carter
's version with pianist
Ray Bryant
's elastic phrasing adds another level of depth and swing. The singer's "Love Song for August" commences as an a cappella folk song that evolves into a slow jazz blues with
Helias
walking the bassline.
Sturn
's colorful playing creates a bottom for
, who responds to
with boozy improvised fills. The trombonist's "Winter Blues" commences with a brief avant solo from
before referencing
Burt Bacharach
's melody for "The Look of Love" and transforms into a languid, airy blues with muted trombone -- and gorgeous lyrics.
's solid rhythmic playing frees
to engage in inventive scat-singing through most of her range.
quotes "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" in his rowdy solo intro to
Duke Ellington
's "Mood Indigo," which evolves into a sultry vocal and trombone duet.
's syncopated playing punctuates
's lines with warmth, wry humor, and rhythmic acumen.
Dizzy Gillespie
's "Con Alma" is equal parts jazz-pop ballad, folk song, and Mexican ranchera (the latter thanks in large part to
's canny sense of harmony and rhythm).
's "Open House" is a finger-poppin'
Hot Club of France
-styled swinger, while
's dark, Americana-tinged "Blackstrap Molasses" is the first half of a medley that gets transformed effortlessly into "Old Devil Moon" with an excellent
solo and scatting.
Gillis
' "Tova and Kyla Rain" is a country-folk song.
handles its tender melody with soulful authority while
employs
Teagarden-esque
New Orleans R&B in his fills and solo, adding color and texture. The
Gershwins
' "Love Is Here to Stay" closes on an ingenious note: the interplay between the principals.
's gift is that it feels simultaneously modern and classic. There isn't a hint of nostalgia either (save for the cover that directly evokes the font from the paperback version of
Herman Raucher
's novel Summer of '42). Ultimately, the sincere desire for collaborative discovery by these players results in sheer delight for the listener. ~ Thom Jurek