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Nick Finzer: Cast Of Characters

By Dan McClenaghan
February 20, 2020
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A cryptic element lurks beneath trombonist

Nick Finzer

trombone
b.1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Nick Finzer's Cast Of Characters. The theme of the album is artistic influences. But who are they...

"We laugh, we cry, we celebrate, we learn, and we forge our own path on the shoulders of those who came before us. We are both the sum of our experience and the product of our influence. We are who we choose to embrace." This is from the spread out trifecta of liner notes in the tri-fold cover of the album.

There are six "cast characters" pictured on the album art—Finzer influences, we can assume. One of them is

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington. Not bad. A trombonist could do worse than cite the influence of perhaps America's greatest composer—one who, incidentally, for fifteen years, in his famed orchestra, employed

Juan Tizol

trombone
1900 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Juan Tizol, the co-author of Ellington staples "Caravan" and "Perdido." The subject of a trombonist skilled at composition is pertinent here; Finzer penned all of the tunes on Cast Of Characters, much in the mode of his tune-smithing on his 2016 offering, Here & Now (Outside In Records), Duke Ellington's "Single Petal Of a Rose," on the earlier album, being the one exception.

The Cast: Sorcerer, Brutus, A Duke, The Weatherman, Venus and the Guru. With a nod to these, Finzer crafts a suite of exquisite beauty. He writes superb post-bop compositions and arranges them for his sextet with an unsurpassable deftness, sprinkling in sparkling and succinct solos which never take the spotlight from the music's "ensemble sound first" mode of operation. Finzer's trombone is joined by

Lucas Pino

saxophone, tenor
b.1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Lucas Pino on sax and bass clarinet,

Glenn Zaleski

piano
b.1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Glenn Zaleski on piano, with guitarist

Alex Wintz

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Alex Wintz, bassist

Dave Baron

bass, acoustic
b.1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Baron and drummer

Jimmy Macbride

drums
b.1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Macbride, the same group that recorded Here & Now.

Ryan Truesdell

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Ryan Truesdell—a fine arranger himself, coming out of the

Gil Evans

composer / conductor
1912 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Gil Evans /

Maria Schneider

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Maria Schneider school—produced both albums and, arrangement wise, there does seem to be a Gil Evans- esque feeling to the sound—an airiness/fullness dynamic containing intricate complexities adding a richness to the proceedings. It can make you wonder what Finzer would do with a larger ensemble.

The tag of jazz as "America's Classical Music" is given credence here. An orchestra isn't necessary for the making of beautifully erudite and engaging sounds. Nick Finzer does it with two horns and a standard rhythm section—plus a guitar.

And: cool cover art.

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Track Listing

A Sorcerer; Intro to...; Evolution of Perspective; Brutus; Intro to...; Patience, Patience; A Duke; (Take The) Fork In the Road; The Weatherman; Venus; Intro to...; You'll Never Know The Alternative; The Guru; We're More Than The Sum Of Our Influences.

Personnel

Nick Finzer

trombone

Lucas Pino

saxophone, tenor

Alex Wintz

guitar

Glenn Zaleski

piano

Dave Baron

bass, acoustic

Jimmy Macbride

drums

Album information

Title: Cast Of Characters | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Outside in Music

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