Time Will Tell

Opening up a Dom Minasi album is always something of an adventure. You never know for sure whether you're going to hear tasteful straight-ahead jazz, adventurous and intelligent avant-gardism, or ridiculous, unlistenable skronk. His recent Takin' the Duke Out album was heavy on the latter, so one could be forgiven for having a few misgivings about Time Will Tell. Luckily, this one leans much more toward the straight-ahead end of the spectrum, where Minasi really does shine. That's not to say that this album is just a rehash of traditional post-bop clichés; on the contrary, Minasi's arrangements (most of which prominently feature the cello as well as guitar, bass, and drums) are inventive and sometimes challenging, and although his tone is warm and soft-edged, the musical thinking in evidence on his solos is sharp and incisive. The same can be said of both his compositions and his arrangements: notice the lovely interplay between Tomas Ulrich's cello and Ken Filiano's bass on Minasi's unusual arrangement of the Wayne Shorter composition "Witch Hunt" and the minimalist loveliness of his original bossa nova entitled "Time Will Tell." Best of all is the assertively funky mid-tempo strut of "Be Op Be Op Be Ah." Minasi lets his solos slide into apparent chaos once in a while, but in a useful way — the end result is a sound that comes across as carefully considered rather than merely self-indulgent. Strongly recommended.