Scott Hesse Trio: Intention
Calligram Records

Speaking about Joe Henderson's remarkable rhythmic sense and his gift for positioning himself in exactly the right spot, guitarist Scott Hesse likens the tenor legend's playing to “watching a gymnast stick the landing.” Much the same could be said of the performances he, bassist Clark Sommers, and drummer Dana Hall serve up on this live set captured at Pro Musica in Chicago on March 11th, 2023. It's Hesse's first outing as a leader since 2015's The Stillness of Motion, and it's a good one. It's well-curated too, with three strong originals appearing alongside inspired treatments of Coltrane, Shorter, and Coleman as well as a fresh take on Jerome Kern's “All the Things You Are.”

Iowa-born and Sioux City-raised, Hesse picked up the guitar at fourteen and never looked back. Playing with his singer-songwriter dad in an eleven-piece band exposed him to a variety of genres, and that thinking-on-his-feet ability continues to serve him well today. Along the way, he absorbed the music of guitarists Jim Hall and Grant Green but clarifies that Henderson, Hancock, and Tyner were greater influences. After a ten-year stint in New York City, Hesse moved to Chicago in 2004 where he's been tearing it up ever since.

Interestingly, his first hookup with Hall and Sommers happened at the Fulton Street Collective art gallery where the three, joined by saxophonist Geof Bradfield, performed alongside a showing of the guitarist's photographs. The chemistry he felt with the bassist and drummer was immediate and something they proceeded to refine in an ongoing trio gig they booked thereafter. Spending time on the road also deepened the connection Intention documents so vividly.

Characteristic of Hesse's mature approach is the trio's handling of Coltrane's “Wise One.” Rather than roar from the gate, the three ease into it gently and allow the material to slowly blossom in force. Here and elsewhere, Hesse paints with subtle colours, but don't be fooled: his advanced harmonic understanding is always in play, as are his sophisticated melodic invention and rhythmic dexterity. Great listeners both, Sommers and Hall are attentive to every move by the leader and respond accordingly. The trio's rubato intro simmers, with Hall accenting Hesse's shimmering strums and chords as Sommers establishes an arco ground and the three tease at Coltrane's theme. After Hall ushers in the next stage with Elvin Jones-styled playing, the trio imposes its personality on the music, with Hesse draping single-note lines and chords against his colleagues' intensifying backdrop. Monitoring the connection the three forge as this commendably histrionics-free, eleven-plus-minute performance unfolds is a genuine pleasure.

Having impressed with that well-rounded opener, the trio moves on to Hesse's “Intention,” a free-bop exercise delivered at a brisk tempo and a great showcase for the outfit's capacity for swing. The leader's solo is especially commanding in the way it expands on the core melody and attacks it from multiple directions while maintaining a through-line from one section to the next. Written for the photography exhibit, “From the Inside” naturally exudes an introspective quality in keeping with Hesse's desire to capture, in his words, “an insider's view of Chicago,” not some touristy version of the city. The patient unfolding of the performance does, in fact, suggest a walk through its scenic neighbourhoods as opposed to, say, a visit to Millennium Park's Cloud Gate (“The Bean”). As thoughtful as the trio's approach is, it's not without muscularity or intensity, however.

Shorter's “Ana Maria” receives a probing reading that, like the other tunes, stretches out and encourages elaborate individual and collective exploration. Hesse's gift for legato playing is particularly evident, as is his talent for blending chunky chords, blues-tinged inflections, and even a funky twist or two. The trio begins its driving, rambunctious take on “All the Things You Are” with the vamp that opens Charlie Parker's “Bird of Paradise” from 1947 and that he and the other quintet members used to introduce the Kern classic on the famous Jazz at Massey Hall recording. Listening to Hesse's riff on Ornette's “Rejoicing,” one might be reminded of the same-titled album Pat Metheny issued in 1984 with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins featuring it and two other Coleman tunes. Like that trio, Hesse's smartly sticks closely to the 1959 original and makes the most of the composition's enduring melodies; the trio's playing also provides one final example of how in sync these three are.

Intention presents musicians more focused on nuance than flash, and as much as the album is Hesse's, Sommers and Hall have authoritative moments in the spotlight too. The unit's described as the guitarist's working trio, and hopefully it's one that'll keep working so that solid group statements like this one'll continue to materialize.

February 2024