Search - Ron Horton :: Genius Envy

It's hard to pick out the uppermost entrancing feature of Ron Horton's debut, Genius Envy. The sound, which allows the bass to shine like the brightest undersea life without muddying even the highest-veering saxophones (here, Jane Ira Bloom's soprano), stands out immediately. But Horton's writing is at the heart of the session, providing great amalgams in "Carla Blake" and "For Thomas Chapin," each of them embodying vast, stylistic curvature, from the deep dimensions of Andrew Hill to a playfully subversive cinematic strain. Horton's music is tremendously narrative, providing ingenious setups that grow into all sorts of dramatic developments--oddly timed rhythmic interludes, gutsy plunger-mute trumpet solos, and chamberesque commentaries on a slow-going bass solo--before resolving into sheer, smart works. Certainly he's prone to using his band coloristically, especially bassist Ben Allison and pianist Frank Kimbrough, with whom Horton has paid homage to late jazz composer Herbie Nichols on Dr. Cyclops' Dream. When this subunit of Horton's full sextet comes to the fore, as on the ballad "Embrace," their ears are hyperattentive to space, making beautiful, decorous music. Horton's debut holds a wealth of promise. --Andrew Bartlett