Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Josh Berman Trio: A Dance And A Hop

Josh Berman Trio: A Dance And A Hop

By Mark Corroto
October 18, 2015
View read count

There is a permanent exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago of 68 miniature rooms. These dollhouses for adults recreate American, French, and English rooms from last century and three centuries ago at a scale of 1 inch to a foot. Visitors lean in to marvel at the amazing detail. Drapery, carpets, and tea cups are reproduced with uncompromising skill. Same can be said for A Dance And A Hop from cornetist

Josh Berman

cornet

" data-original-title="" title="">Josh Berman. His vest-pocket music approach invites you to listen at an angle, bent toward his specific musical details.

A key player in the vibrant Chicago jazz scene, his cornet can be heard in vibraphonist

Jason Adasiewicz

vibraphone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown, The Chicago Luzern Exchange,

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark's Audio One, and the rotating leader ensemble Fast Citizens. This, his third release as a true leader follows the octet recording There Now (Delmark, 2012) and his quintet Old Idea (Delmark, 2009).

The music here, although fully composed, feels off the cuff. That is, until you recognize just how tight this trio is. Berman chose bassist

Jason Roebke

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Roebke and drummer

Frank Rosaly

drums
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Rosaly, two players he has a long history with, as collaborators here. They negotiate the opening track "Hang Ups" with its incongruous jagged-to-serpentine course with an attention to detail that supposes Berman's slurred cornet and trot to gallop lines are the norm. Each piece here is miniaturized shout from

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman enunciated through a

Bill Dixon

trumpet
1925 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Dixon filter. Berman has the knack for making sense of an extended trumpet technique within a melody. He brings it home via familiar forms, as in "Blues," or the lazy coolness of "Today's Date."

From thirty thousand feet this music is nondescript. But close up, the physicality of Roebke's bass and the engaged swing of Rosaly's drums ignite the cornetist's language. His dances included not just a hop, but a dash, a bolt, a scurry and a slide. The details here make for an intoxicating experience.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Hang Ups; Blues; Wooden; Tine/Trouble; Your Uncle; Mint; That��s How; Luggage; Bridges; Today��s Date; Cold Snap.

Personnel

Josh Berman

cornet

Josh Berman: cornet; Jason Roebke: bass; Frank Rosaly: drums.

Album information

Title: A Dance And A Hop | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Delmark Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Warren Haynes and the Ashes & Dust B...
< Previous

Say Hello To Russia
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.