Go Home

Ben Goldberg emerges larger than life as a premier progressive jazz clarinetist, wise beyond his years, and savvy in making original music with a sensual nature. Alongside brass player Ron Miles and guitarist Charlie Hunter, Goldberg has a band that can slink around melodies and suggest more than they are playing from a deep, emotional level. Scott Amendola's sparse, loose, and implicative drumming adds further to their concept, with the music showing ethnic underpinnings not far removed from Goldberg's work with Tin Hat. Recorded in the studio, the tuneful "TGO" infuses tango with New Orleans flavors, with "Heads & Tails" and "Inevitable" upping the mystery quotient exponentially. Included are four live tracks at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, CA, with Hunter's resonant and pronounced guitar taking the up bulk of space during "Root & Branch," while a more bluesy stance from the seven-string electric guitarist comes out in processed sounds for "Isosceles," less so on the deliberate, light funk of "Papermaker." Miles continues to develop unique voicings on the cornet or G-trumpet, while Goldberg's facile, lithe, attractive clarinet never wavers from track to track as one of the more substantive representatives in new jazz-influenced music, and they sound incredible together every step of the way. Go Home is a recording to be sought and savored, a memorable musical experience for both creative music listeners and the modern mainstream alike. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi