Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nate Wooley: Argonautica

Nate Wooley: Argonautica

By Karl Ackermann
August 8, 2016
View read count

Trumpeter Nate Wooley is among the most exploratory and esoteric players/composers in creative improvisation along with fellow trumpeter/cornetists

Rob Mazurek

trumpet
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Rob Mazurek and

Peter Evans

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Evans. Wooley's catalog ranges from the wildly free The Nows (Clean Feed Records, 2011), a quartet that included

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark and Paul Lyton, to the Bojan Vuleti composed chamber work, Atemwende (Ignoring Gravity Music, 2013) with the Mivos String Quartet). But Wooley's real eclecticism has shone in his works as a leader—particularly in recent years—with the minimalist solo experimentation of The Almond (Pogus Productions, 2011) and the nineteen-person ensemble on Seven Storey Mountain V (Pleasure Of Text Records, 2016). Somewhere in between, both stylistically and in terms of head-count, is Argonautica.

The solitary forty-three minute track that makes up the album is Wooley's tribute to trumpeter

Ron Miles

cornet
1963 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Miles, an influential mentor to Wooley during his time as a student in Denver. Miles—a member of this group—has produced a markedly different body of work throughout his long career, in comparison to Wooley. The former has often applied his talents to a particularly Americana style of jazz as evidenced in his numerous projects with

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell but Miles is no less an innovator, just a different style of innovator.

The two trumpeters are part of a conjoint double trio with Wooley's group of pianist

Cory Smythe

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Cory Smythe and

Devin Gray

drums
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Devin Gray on drums and Miles trio with

Jozef Dumoulin

keyboards

" data-original-title="" title="">Jozef Dumoulin on Fender Rhodes and electronics and drummer

Rudy Royston

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Rudy Royston. Miles' contemplative style and Wooley's somewhat more forceful method mesh beautifully even through frequent alterations to the overall atmosphere.

The title track fades out and into three breaks beginning with Wooley's tentative-turned abstract solo. Piano, keyboards and drums join in as the piece takes a more lyrical—but edgy—turn and then begins to unleash its energy with more aggressive percussion and electronics. Smythe leads in the next section tranquilly but Wooley's high pitch sets the piano on edge as a torrent of notes intermingles with the trumpet and then both cool off to a near silence. Scratching, scraping electronics usher in the final part, punctuated by a more heavy-handed Smythe, eventually veering off to a bop oriented rhythm. Trumpet and cornet meet up as an almost eerie complement to each other, holding off a swirl of drums and electronics to the conclusion.

Argonautica is saturated in a variety of atmospheres, sometimes in a haze, other times with the intensity of a storm. Whether melodic or noisy, there is a coherent momentum that binds the freest improvisations to lyrical passages, eschewing prescribed limitations of composition and the conventional boundaries of instruments. Argonautica is yet another ambitious and beautifully realized work from Wooley, who just keeps moving the needle forward with every project.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Argonautica.

Personnel

Nate Wooley

trumpet

Nate Wooley, trumpet; Ron Miles, cornet; Cory Smythe, piano; Jozef Dumoulin, Fender Rhodes and electronics; Rudy Royston, drums; Devin Gray, drums.

Album information

Title: Argonautica | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Firehouse 12 Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Dare to Be
< Previous

Dobbeltgaenger
Next >

Nate Wooley Concerts

Oct 11 Sat

Ingardens Festival

First Street Green Cultural Park
New York, NY

Oct 12 Sun

Ingardens Festival

First Street Green Cultural Park
New York, NY

Oct 13 Mon

Ingardens Festival

First Street Green Cultural Park
New York, NY

Nov 21 Fri

Jon Irabagon Quintet

Firehouse 12
New Haven, CT

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.