Narmada Neil Welch

Seattle based saxophonist Neil Welch just released his debut album Narmada (Belle Records). Whether intentional or not, it was quietly released. Long term this will prove a wise move as many promising careers have ended up stalled by media/critic hyperbole which breeds expectations which no artists can live up to.

On the album Neil plays both tenor and soprano saxophones. He wears his influences proudly for all to see. With some artists who do this, it makes you reach for the albums that are their source material, cutting out the middle man. With Neil it works, though. He captures the spirit, never attempting to play what his two most apparent influences, John Coltrane or Pharaoh Sanders, would play. Instead he plays how they would play and, more importantly he plays as they have inspired him to play, while always remaining his own man.

The album is mostly comprised of originals except for a traditional Hindustani raga which is here arranged by Neil, Tor Dietrichson and Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee, who all are members outside this traditional Hindustani ensemble, “Nada Brahma.” The other cover is “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead.

The first track, “Madness in Motion,” has a simmering feel to it, starting out with Luke Bergman's bass and Brian Kinsella, who throughout the album switches off between piano and Fender Rhodes. The Fender Rhodes appearance on the track is a perfect fit; it lacks any sense of kitsch which can sometimes happen with the use of vintage keyboards. It serves up cascading bubbles over the initial bass statement with which it then combines to provide a foundation for the rest of the band to make their entrance. There is a great overall subtlety to the piece. With the steady polyrhythms of drummer Chris Icasiano and soft, plaintive, electro murmurings of Cameron Peace's guitar, Neil solos over what feels like a tranced-out bolero. His tone on this piece is warm with a judicious use of discordance, which lends an air of muscle to his overall cadence.

“The Search” is dedicated to John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders and Albert Ayler, the holy trinity of questing reedmen. This is less a parroting and more an homage, not just to these three greats but to a whole sound, unified. So well does the entire band here fall into the spirit of things that they could easily have been their artistic forefathers' label-mates on Impulse in the 1960s, when all the song's dedicatees practiced their craft. On this song, Brian Kinsella is heard on piano, providing a series of delicate fluidic runs at the start. Throughout the album is a core quartet with added instruments appearing on different tracks. Here Tor Dietrichson plays congas alongside Chris Icasiano on drums. It is interesting to hear the extra rhythmic pulses, which create a greater overall sonic density to the feel of the song. This density provides effective counterpoint to both the long snaking lines which Neil plays initially and the flurry of notes which move the piece towards its cathartic release at the end.

Tor Dietrichson (tabla); Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee (sitar)

An immediately apparent aspect of what makes this such a compelling album is the interplay of the band. It never sounds as if anyone is biding their time until a solo; there is never any slackening of tension. There is an organic feel of unity, not just among the core quartet, but in the enlarged version as well. All the distinctive voices are equally heard and nothing ever feels rote or contrived.

One of the greatest aspects of jazz has always been its ability to draw from diverse sources. There had initially been a shock of the new when high concept was combined with then au current populist material to create a sort of hybrid high art. The populist source material's vernacular was usually via Broadway or Tin Pan Alley. “My Favorite Things” was transformed forever by John Coltrane. And there are countless other examples, “Someday My Prince Will Come,” “'Till There Was You,” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top.” These songs both in their initial conception and as morphed into jazz are now well accepted as part of the establishment. Ironically, younger players may now only be aware of the songs through the once shocking jazz interpretations and even most of these, while not necessarily diminished in power, are several decades old.

New generations want to stake claim to jazz in the vernacular of what they were hearing in their formative years, which is more often than not rock/pop. As much as I evangelize about jazz's diversity, I can be snobby the point of closed-minded when it comes to covers of more recent material. I understand the appeal and even necessity but to me it often does not work. Beatles songs “jazzed up” or Nirvana songs sound gimmicky or, at best homogenized, offering nothing notable to either the rock or jazz fan. When I initially read the track listing and saw the Radiohead cover, I sort of rolled my eyes but it actually works, and works well. You do not even have to know Radiohead to enjoy the track. I think one key to this track's success is that the musicians do not try to water down themselves. They speak as they had throughout the rest of the album with great interplay and an overall emotional immediacy in all the solo statements.

The album is 73 minutes long and comes in a jewel case/cardboard slip case. The sound is pristine and manages to have an ambient warmth despite being recorded in this digital age. Some liner notes are included.

One of the pleasures of what I do is being turned onto new music. Even more exciting is when I discover not a lost masterpiece but musicians at the start of their careers whom I can follow over the years, seeing what else time adds to their palette. This album shows a group of artists off to a powerful start.

Musicians: Neil Welch-tenor/soprano sax; Brian Kinsella-piano/Rhodes; Cameron Peace-guitar; Luke Bergman-drums; Chris Icasiano-bass; Tor Dietrichson tabla/congas/percussion; Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee-sitar. For more information, visit: http://welchn.squarespace.com/home/