'Personal Saints' is our pick
Tunes are by the US alto saxophonist Alden Hellmuth on this studio recording made in Brooklyn.
Best tracks feature trumpeter Josh Evans particularly the track 'Personal Saints' which also has a great bass riff of an intro by Kanoa Mendenhall and the fruity colouristic tang of Fender Rhodes electric piano from Chris McCarthy in a softly blended wash of sounds.
We also liked Yvonne Rogers' piano intro on 'Ambrosia & Vetiver' that again has fine contributions from Evans and filigree guitar work from Lucas Kadish.
Climb every mountain
Swiss roll: Check Hellmuth in the horn ensemble sound in the video above made in Switzerland approaching three years ago in a small combo that featured storming work from pianist Aaron Parks. Hellmuth studied in Basel having gained a place in a Focusyear programme.
Modernity matters
Tunes range from the concision of 'Biting The Hand (That Feeds You)' to the longest which is the pensive complex title track where drummer Timothy Angulo adds a lot of atmosphere and there's a tense pedal note that asserts the modernity of the piece.
Hellmuth comes from Hartford, Connecticut - Evans' hometown too - and has toured with Jeremy Pelt and Louis Hayes and studied at the Herbie Hancock Institute in UCLA. There's Jackie McLean in the heritage of Hellmuth's sound and also traces of more recent styles like M-BASE (particularly I'm thinking Steve Coleman in a few more feverish passages). Hellmuth's most compelling soloing is on 'Change Like Water' where Rogers proves highly empathetic.
Alden Hellmuth photo: via FSNT on Bandcamp
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