Pulse in Bloomington, MN

Dan Cavanagh
makes his recording debut as a leader with this striking big-band date. One of the challenges young bandleaders face is tackling a program of original material with supporting musicians who also aren't widely known, but
Cavanagh
quickly makes it apparent that he not only writes challenging and interesting charts, but his superb players give their all in tackling them, while the leader takes relatively few solos for himself at the piano.
"Having Built in Deeper Water"
is a majestic opener, a modern mini-suite with superb solos by soprano saxophonist
Randy Hamm
and trumpeter
Scott Harrell
. The tense
"Tunnel Vision"
is full of rich colors, while the ominous
"Black Rattle"
showcases drummer
Stockton Helbing
and
Harrell
. The three-part
"Mississippi Ecstasy"
is a valiant effort to blend jazz with
Timothy Young
's poetry, though spoken words mixed with jazz remain an acquired taste, at least
Young
is speaking rather than screaming, while his poetry is well above what passes for it on other jazz CDs. This auspicious debut should open doors for
. ~ Ken Dryden