Following 1999's
hip-hop/
jazz foray
Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1, trumpeter
Russell Gunn returns to straight-ahead
jazz on
Smokin Gunn, where he's joined by altoist
Bruce Williams, pianist
Marc Cary, bassist
Eric Revis, and drummer
Terreon Gully. Compositionally, there's a distinct flavor of early
Wynton Marsalis in
Gunn's originals. One hears the influence of the elder trumpeter in the bashing, blistering tempo of
"Groid," the modal changes of
"Amnesia," and
"The Beeach," and the odd phrase lengths of
"El's Kitchen." Gunn even pays direct tribute to
Marsalis with a brief trio rendition of
"Delfeayo's Dilemma," a track off of
Black Codes (From the Underground). The presence of
Eric Revis,
Branford Marsalis's bassist of choice at the time of this recording, makes the
Marsalis connection even stronger.
Gunn opens and closes the album with bold strokes, beginning with excerpts from his
"Freedom Suite" (not to be confused with
Sonny Rollins's) and ending with the
Coltrane masterpiece
"Crescent." (It's particularly refreshing to hear a trumpeter tackle something so closely identified with a tenor player.) But
Smokin Gunn, despite its many highlights, falls short of being a major individual statement. That said, it's a very good way to encounter the hard-edged and inventive piano playing of
Marc Cary. And anything with
Terreon Gully at the drums is bound to swing like crazy. ~ David R. Adler
