Joel Frahm: Lumination

ANZIC 0091 (RECORDED MAY 2023)

The first time I heard Joel Frahm was at a performance of the Matt Wilson Quartet in the late 1990s. I was immediately impressed with his big sound, his command of the tenor sax and his youthful enthusiasm for jazz. In the intervening years his sound, now a bit warmer, is still as big as ever; he’s gained greater control over the tenor, effortlessly shifting from a controlled flow of cascading notes to well-placed screams; and like his former employer, Matt Wilson, Frahm’s enthusiasm for creating challenging yet accessible jazz is timeless. In all come together on Lumination, his second recording with the trio of Frahm, bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Ernesto Cervini. Having worked together for a decade, the trio has achieved a level of intuitive interplay as well as compositional competency. The ten selections on Lumination, all composed by members of the trio vary in style — from the blues of Cervini’s “The Nurse Is In” and the funk of Loomis’ “False Spring” to Frahm’s mournful ballad “Moonface Lament,” and his angular take on “Kern You Dig It?,” (based on “All The Things You Are”). Three words sum up the listening experience — playful, tasteful and soulful. There is the playfulness of Frahm as he quotes snippets of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Parker’s “My Little Suede Shoes” and other tunes, too quick to register in his stream of well-placed (and played) notes. Dan Loomis’ duet with Frahm on “Moonface Lament” is as tasteful as can be as is Cervini’s sensitive brush work on “Kern You Dig It?” Most of all, there is the soulful sound of three musicians enjoying each others company, compositions and creativity. To conclude with other words that ends in “ful,” Lumination is a delightful addition to Frahm’s discography and a meaningful addition to the classic tenor/bass/drum format.

BOTTOM LINE: Lumination is the second outing for saxphonist Joel Frahm, bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Ernesto Cervini. Having worked together for tm years, the group has perfected their compositional, improvisational and instrumental skills in a recording filled with twists and turns, soul and syncopation and melodies and moods.