Young drummer Matt Slocum already has a formidable resume--a scholarship to the Thornton School of Music at USC; a student of Phil Hey, Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, John Clayton, Joe LaBarbara and Shelly Berg; touring with rising star vocalist Sara Gazarek; and recent associations with Seamus Blake, Alan Broadbent, Bill Cunliffe, Larry Koonse, Wynton Marsalis, Bob Sheppard, Gerald Wiggins and Anthony Wilson. A budding master of composition as well as percussion, Slocum brings both talents to his debut recording, Portraits, released this month on Chandra Records. And the drummer is not the only young lion in the studio--Slocum's cohorts include pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Massimo Biolcati, and varying combinations of saxophonists Walter Smith III, Jaleel Shaw, and Dayna Stephens. "The music was written with these gentlemen and their unique musical personalities in mind," notes Slocum, "as a way to document this music and to provide a snapshot of this group of special musicians and friends." Eight of the nine tracks are Slocum originals. 

Portraits is a collection of often delicate ballads and mid-tempo adventures, with four tracks featuring one (or two) of the saxes, and Clayton sitting out on two tracks, turning over the melodic compass to the horns. The drummer's melodic heart is evident throughout: The gentle "Cambria" highlights the grace of Clayton's piano, the lush tone of Biolcati, a slow dance that suggests Abdullah Ibrahim or Lynne Arriale. "For Alin" is another delicate pleasure, starting out as solo piano, and continuing as an elegant interaction among the trio. The title track swings at a midtempo, perhaps the finest example here of the collaboration among a tightly-bonded piano trio that makes extensive use of dynamic variation.  

Slocum as composer  and percussionist brings forth intriguing ideas, particularly on tracks such as "Shadows" where shifting moods, rhythms and colors create an air of suspense. The well-titled "Illusions and Delusions" feels like "Round Midnight" stretched into to the wee hours of morning, Biolcati's basslines magnificently brooding while Dayna Stephens' tenor sax adds some quivers that raise goosebumps. The melodic interplay of  "Seven Stars" features two saxophones, Shaw on alto and Stephens on tenor, the horns weaving a lush line of sonic braid. "Avenida del Paraiso" closes the album south of the border, Biolcati's dancing basslines at the fore, Clayton subtly dazzling, Slocum a portrait of elegant restraint. 

The two piano-less tracks, Slocum's "Homage" and Ellington's "Day Dream," highlight young lion Walter Smith III on tenor. On the opening "Homage"  Biolcati's probing, bass pulsates from below ground level; Slocum rumbles without intruding, while Smith climbs up and down as if testing out a spiral staircase.  Yet it's "Day Dream," with slithering sax, sultry basslines and resonant mallet solo, that by itself provides ample reason to check out this recording. 

Matt Slocum is more than a rising star drummer--he is a composer of startling melodic sophistication. Portraits is just the beginning.