Slovenian jazz guitarist Samo Salamon conveys maturity beyond his young years on this progressive jazz release. A live recording featuring well-known American saxophonist David Binney to round out the three-horn attack, the guitarist surfaces as a confident leader who possesses mega-chops and improvisational savvy. With these five lengthy pieces the band offers a refreshing slant via a concoction of free-jazz, swing, bop and jazz-fusion. But the overall muse is not simply built upon a cross-polarization of jazz styles. It’s more about Salamon’s resourceful leadership and rock solid compositions that highlight his band-mates’ technical veracity amid variable flows and memorable choruses.
At times, Salamon puts the pedal to the metal via ascending soloing ventures and climactic phrasings; all supplemented by stinging progressions and cleverly articulated single note flurries. Otherwise, Binney, saxophonist Achille Succi and trumpeter Kyle Gregory turn in gritty soloing to coincide with the various shifts in tempo and alternating currents. On "There’s Still Dog Food Left In It," Paolino Dalla Porta takes an extended bass solo, followed by the hornists’ solemn passages, ultimately evolving into a vibrant medium-tempo swing vamp. With that, Salamon - a one-time student of guitarist John Scofield - successfully conveys a vibe that teeters on the cutting edge of matters, while offering a set that seldom fails to entertain!
