Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Dan Rosenboom: Polarity

Dan Rosenboom: Polarity

By Jerome Wilson
August 5, 2023
View read count

On this album, trumpeter

Dan Rosenboom

trumpet
b.1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Dan Rosenboom and his quartet engage in a free-wheeling session which comes off as a modern update of

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter releases such as The All-Seeing Eye (Blue Note, 1966). He engages in playful genre-crossing and experimentation here which incorporate the sensibilities of hip-hop and ambient music as well as modern jazz.

The album's key track is the marathon opener, "The Age of Snakes" in which Rosenboom's trumpet and

Gavin Templeton

saxophone, alto

" data-original-title="" title="">Gavin Templeton's alto saxophone lazily float over a bobbing beat laid down by pianist

John Escreet

piano
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">John Escreet, bassist

Billy Mohler

bass
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Mohler and drummer

Damion Reid

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Damion Reid. Over the course of nineteen-plus minutes, the piece dreamily moves through an amorphous fabric of stretched horn lines, spiky piano chords, and loping grooves which are slowly infiltrated by wobbly electronics. The music sounds like a dreamlike cross between

Robert Glasper

piano
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Robert Glasper, Tangerine Dream, and 1974

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis.

Nothing else on the album matches the headiness of "The Age of Snakes," but the rest of it is still very good. "War Money" and "Minotaur" boil with frantic energy while "A Paper Tiger" has the two horns flying over Escreet's jangling piano and the rhythm section's stomping drive. On "Ikigai" Rosenboom and Escreet leap and dart over heavy drum patterns and "On Summoning The Will" soars with a quietly noble calm. "Tidal Mirror" is a more ambient return to "The Age Of Snakes"' nebulous haze. Here Rosenboom's and Templeton's horns make soft ruptures through a thick carpet of synthesized sounds. All the musicians excel but Rosenboom is particularly expressive throughout and Reid's explosive drums give the music real power. Producer Justin Stanley also deserves kudos for his mixing work on "The Age of Snakes" and "Tidal Mirror"

Dan Rosenboom really carries on the exploratory traditions of musicians such as Wayne Shorter with this release. This music has an eye-opening sharpness and fire to it, and covers an impressive range of sounds. It is an outstanding album.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

The Age of Snakes; A Paper Tiger; Walking Shadows; War Money; On Summoning The Will; Ikigai; Tidal Mirror; Minotaur.

Personnel

Dan Rosenboom

trumpet

Gavin Templeton

saxophone, alto

John Escreet

piano

Billy Mohler

bass

Damion Reid

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Dan Rosenboom: flugelhorn, quarter-tone trumpet; Gavin Templeton: baritone saxophone; John Escrett: keyboards.

Album information

Title: Polarity | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Orenda Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The North Mississippi Allstars: The...
< Previous

Forgive Me My
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.