Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

By Jack Bowers
November 5, 2023
View read count

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Asked to name the traits women most need to succeed in today's business world, Forbes magazine in a 2019 article underlined two of them as "grit and grace." One woman who took the advice to heart is bass trombonist

Jennifer Wharton

trombone, bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Jennifer Wharton. She came late to jazz but has since made it her domain of choice, founding the trombone-centric septet Bonegasm and recording three albums under its name, the most recent of which, Grit & Grace, endorses Forbes' position by using its words as the basis for an emphatic session that displays those very qualities from start to finish.

As Bonegasm consists of four trombones and a rhythm section, it helps greatly if one of the trombonists is named

John Fedchock

trombone
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">John Fedchock, as there are not many jazz peers who are his equal when it comes to composing, arranging or soloing. Fedchock (who is Wharton's husband) did not write any of the album's ten numbers but did arrange two—Wharton's "Be Normal" and "Virtual Reality"—and solos sharply on four. Wharton and Fedchock share the front line with trombonists

Alan Ferber

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Alan Ferber and

Nate Mayland

trombone
b.1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Nate Mayland—no slouches themselves—while pianist

Michael Eckroth

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Eckroth, bassist

Evan Gregor

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Gregor, drummer

Don Peretz

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Peretz and (on five numbers) percussionist

Samuel Torres

percussion
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Samuel Torres ably handle the rhythm.

Wharton commissioned five new works for the album, all by women, including two Australians: composer/bandleader

Vanessa Perica

composer / conductor
b.1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Vanessa Perica ("In Our Darkest Hour") and trumpeter

Nadje Noordhuis

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Nadje Noordhuis ("Coop's Condiments"). The others were written by Grammy-nominated composer

Miho Hazama

composer / conductor
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Miho Hazama ("Norhala"), trombonist

Natalie Cressman

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Natalie Cressman ("Menina Sozinha") and Colombian-born pianist

Carolina Calvache

piano
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Carolina Calvache ("Uncertainty"). Add Wharton's "Mama's Alright" and the Mexican folk song "La Bruja" (arranged by Wharton), and that leaves

Dick Oatts

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Dick Oatts ("Anita") as the album's lone male composer.

The music itself is consistently bright and engaging, with more than enough color and variety to capture and hold almost anyone's interest. Wharton is a first-class writer, as she proves on the assertive opener, "Be Normal," the breezy "Mama's Alright" and the incisive "Virtual Reality." Perica's "Darkest Hour" is suitably opaque, Hazama's "Norhala" a colorful showcase for the trombone choir, Calvache's genial "Uncertainty" anything but random, Cressman's buoyant "Menina Sozinha" (which opens with a trombone solo) a rhythmic delight. The album closes in a funky New Orleans groove, as Wharton tries her hand at singing (and does so reasonably well) on Noordhuis' playful "Coop's Condiments."

The charts are superb, the ensemble letter-perfect, the soloists (including Wharton) admirable. In sum, a good-natured and consistently engaging medley from Bonegasm.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Be Normal; In Our Darkest Hour; Anita; Mama's Alright; Norhala; Uncertainty; Menina Sozinha; Virtual Reality; La Bruja; Coop's Condiments.

Personnel

Jennifer Wharton

trombone, bass

John Fedchock

trombone

Nate Mayland

trombone

Alan Ferber

trombone

Michael Eckroth

piano

Evan Gregor

bass, acoustic

Samuel Torres

percussion

Don Peretz

drums

Album information

Title: Grit & Grace | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Take Five with Multi-Instrumentalist...
< Previous

New music from John Pena, Trio Grand...
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.