Hopes and Dreams


Artist: Return to One

Label: Circumvention

Price: $12.95

Year: 2000
Format: CD

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The CD "hopes and dreams" by Return To One begins with a strong musical introduction including a quick tempo, a tight arrangement and a melody in the high range of the woodwinds which adds immediacy to the musical journey you are about to take. Within a few minutes, the tempo begins to accelerate into an Afro-Cuban groove and soon jettisons into a fierce atonal and arrhythmic collage of sounds eventually leading us back into the recapitulation of the original opening melody. The elastic tempo changes and occasional metric displacements on "hopes and dreams" reveal how tight this quartet can be when they dedicate themselves to a common musical goal. Although the musical arrangements include an introduction of the melody by Elderton and Baxter and the eventual expansion of the motives by each soloist, the direction of each chord change and rhythm accompaniment are still as fresh and unpredictable as life itself. Since I have had a chance to witness the live performances of Return To One, I think that the experience of the live performance are very similar to this recording since there is a "passive" and "active" brevity in each improviser. As each musician steps aside to listen to the other musician make his entire statement, each performer also interpolates carefully what the pervious performer has already played. Several selections on this CD also include simultaneous solos played by the woodwinds as well as a large number of percussion textures including Hubbard's handmade "electronic frame". The poetry on the final fifteen minute track, "Silverfish", also makes this CD eclectic enough to evade being labeled as a straight instrumental jazz recording. On "Hopes and Dreams" it is difficult to determine or "pigeon hole" RTO's song writing style since the melodies and improvisations that "section A" to "section B" back to "section A" loosely range anywhere from 8 to 40 measures. I think this makes the music exciting due to its unpredictability as well as displays RTO's versatility and keen listening skills while exhibiting their confidence as instrumental performers. I recommend buying this short collection of songs with a variety of moods and textures since the musical arrangements cannot be mistaken for any other San Diego jazz quartet. -Curtis Glatter (spring 2002

ARTISTS
Lee Elderton, Ward Baxter (woodwinds); Josh Jones (bass); Nathan Hubbard (percussion); Rick Helzer (piano)

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Hopes and Dreams