3 Times Round

Reviewed: 2018-10-25
Genre: Jazz
FCCs: none
Review: One comes to expect a challenge from this trumpeter/composer. Schooled the past 18 years as a member of Steve Coleman's Five Elements, Finlayson delivers music with a surgical precision, as evidenced on his third release as a leader. His band forms a kind of philosophers' club, navigating Finlayson's compositions, while having an intramural discourse.
If You Like: Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Matthew Shipp
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
1/ Feints (7:02) – piano starts> jagged uptempo jam> quick stop
*2/ Grass (7:40) – piano starts> uptempo jam> trumpet solo> piano solo> uptempo jam> quick stop
*3/ A Stone, A Pond, a Thought (9:02) – piano stats> midtempo jam like steering a ship through a fog increases in volume & intensity> crescendo & some drum beats to end
4/ The Moon Is New (14:07 ) – piano starts> uptempo jam slows to slow tempo, then swings back up hard & heavy>pause> swinging uptempo jam goes wild & off-kilter> pause> swinging midtempo jam> pause> swinging uptempo piano solo slows to slow tempo & fades
*5/ Refined Strut (4:40) – piano starts> midtempo jam with Spanish vibe slowly slows to fade
6/ Rope from The Sky (3:16) – piano starts> slow jam> slow fade
*7/ Tap Tap (7:22) - piano starts> uptempo jam> quick stop