Another Morning

Despite the greats who spent time developing their craft in Seattle during a previous era (Ray Charles, Quincy Jones), today's Seattle jazz scene is a relatively young one compared to other, more established sounds. As such, perhaps it's fitting that fusion can play a part in it from time to time. Drummer Matt Jorgensen is one of those at the forefront of the fusion movement within the area, putting jazz and rock aesthetics together fluidly without focusing on fusion itself, and not coming across as heavy-handed as a result. This is effortless fusion: jazzers who happen to have a head for rock chord progressions; rockers who happen to inhabit jazz but veer away from the thrashing that fusion often devolves into. This is not the guitar-heavy sound of John McLaughlin-era fusion, with its electronic buzz. The only electronics here come in the form of Ryan Burns' organ playing. Even though there are covers of the Beatles and Neil Young here (which are both excellent), the real standouts are the original compositions, giving the bandmembers room to stretch out on their own terms rather than fitting into the framework of a classic. These are musicians who want to create something new, and succeed greatly.