Maxwell’s House Review in Cadence Magazine
Published on July 16th, 2010
For his third disc, altoist Maxwell employs a pair of sidemen he used on his second release in 2009. Pianist Nelson and drummer Brandon Dickert have been with him for a while now and bassist Martinez fits in nicely. Their music is basically mainstream modern, freshened up by the soloists’ individualistic improvising styles and by clever compositions such as the title track, with its playful skips and jumps, to the smooth and lovely waltz “Ava,” for which lyrics would not be out of place.
As a player, Maxwell’s greatest strength is his tone, a keening sound similar to those of Jackie McLean and Kenny Garrett. It can be aggressively muscular or warmly expressive, depending on the context. His straight-ahead improvisations sometimes employ widely arpeggiated figures evocative of Eric Dolphy or Bennie Wallace. Although the rhythm section does a fine job of helping bring the tunes to life and inspiring the soloists, pianist Matt Nelson has to be singled out for his extraordinary skill as an improviser. His imaginative, unpredictable improvisations make listening to him a genuine pleasure.
