textura

Jim Snidero: Far Far Away
SAVANT

With Far Far Away, alto saxophonist Jim Snidero rides the wave of momentum generated by two previous sets, a 2021 reissue of the terrific 2003 album Strings and Live at the Deer Head Inn, laid down on an October evening in 2020 at a rural Pennsylvania jazz club and issued publicly a half-year later. Far Far Away feels like a natural extension of that live release for the fact that pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Joe Farnsworth again appear. This time, however, the quartet's joined by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, a move that has an understandably critical impact on the band's sound, chemistry, and balance. With two front-liners in play and feeding off one another, the music expands accordingly.

One of things that has sustained Snidero is creative adventurousness. Whereas Strings saw him adding to the renowned saxophone-with-strings tradition, he's elsewhere explored the organ combo (2007's Tippin'), Korean culture (2020's Project-K), and the music of Miles Davis's second quintet (2016's MD66). Never staying in one place for long has kept him engaged and invigorated across multiple decades, and certainly no wear'n'tear is evident on Far Far Away. This one-time student of Phil Woods and Dave Liebman made his first record as a leader with 1984's On Time and hasn't looked back since.

Of Far Far Away, Snidero says, “I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the band's sound while writing—how to layer certain elements such as timbre, harmony and range, to both blend and (sometimes) conflict, creating more depth.” Such aspects are on full display on the fifty-five-minute set, which couples six originals by the leader with two covers, an inspired take on Rodgers and Hammerstein's “It Might as Well be Spring” and McCoy Tyner's “Search for Peace.” Tradition and innovation are thoughtfully balanced in a presentation encompassing swing, balladry, and harder-edged tunes, Snidero's bright, incisive alto the glue keeping it all together. Rosenwinkel's also pivotal to the album for his versatility; like the saxophonist, he's consistently able to tailor his attack to the style of the material in play, and of course the same could be said of the three others.

Kicking genre concerns to the curb, the quintet blazes into the breathless title track, straddling jazz, swing, and rock as naturally as breathing. Rosenwinkel and Snidero deliver the soaring theme in unison before the guitarist brings the heat and the leader follows with his own inspired turn, the playing of both buoyed by the drive of the rhythm section and the high standard of musicianship set by all five. Not to be outdone, Evans weighs in with his own rousing statement, and Farnsworth even gets a moment to shine too. A ridiculously high bar set, the quintet cools the furious pace for the relaxed groove of “Infinity,” the tempo ideal for coaxing a solo from Snidero that's by turns funky, singing, smooth, and acrobatic and one from the guitarist that's probing and explorative.

Rosenwinkel opens “It Might As Well Be Spring” with a lyrical intro that opens the door for a characteristically expressive statement by Snidero. Just as one's starting to think the cover'll be a duet, the others join in, but understatedly so as not to spoil the intimate mood. Three Snidero originals follow, the breezy “Nowhere to Hide,” the soulful “Obsession,” and bluesy “Pat” (Martino, not Metheny)—all distinguished by the one-two punch of the front-liners, an attack by Rosenwinkel that can be both liquidy and scalding, and unfailingly swinging support from the rhythm section. Shifting gears, the Tyner cover moves the playing into deep ballad mode, with the tune eliciting thoughtful ruminations by Snidero, Rosenwinkel, and Washington.

Technique and imagination merge splendidly in Snidero's playing, and when that happens it inspires those around him to execute in kind. When a discography is as packed as his is, it makes more sense to describe Far Far Away as a stellar addition to it rather than try to gauge where it might stand hierarchically. As solid as the new release is, it's the accumulated body of work Snidero's produced that deserves to be appreciated more than any one recording.

February 2023


	Jim Snidero: Far Far Away SAVANT With Far Far Away, alto saxophonist Jim Snidero rides the wave of momentum generated by two previous sets, a 2021 reissue of the terrific 2003 album Strings and Live at the Deer Head Inn, laid down on an October evening in 2020 at a rural Pennsylvania jazz club and issued publicly a half-year later. Far Far Away feels like a natural extension of that live release for the fact that pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Joe Farnsworth again appear. This time, however, the quartet's joined by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, a move that has an understandably critical impact on the band's sound, chemistry, and balance. With two front-liners in play and feeding off one another, the music expands accordingly. One of things that has sustained Snidero is creative adventurousness. Whereas Strings saw him adding to the renowned saxophone-with-strings tradition, he's elsewhere explored the organ combo (2007's Tippin'), Korean culture (2020's Project-K), and the music of Miles Davis's second quintet (2016's MD66). Never staying in one place for long has kept him engaged and invigorated across multiple decades, and certainly no wear'n'tear is evident on Far Far Away. This one-time student of Phil Woods and Dave Liebman made his first record as a leader with 1984's On Time and hasn't looked back since. Of Far Far Away, Snidero says, “I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the band's sound while writing—how to layer certain elements such as timbre, harmony and range, to both blend and (sometimes) conflict, creating more depth.” Such aspects are on full display on the fifty-five-minute set, which couples six originals by the leader with two covers, an inspired take on Rodgers and Hammerstein's “It Might as Well be Spring” and McCoy Tyner's “Search for Peace.” Tradition and innovation are thoughtfully balanced in a presentation encompassing swing, balladry, and harder-edged tunes, Snidero's bright, incisive alto the glue keeping it all together. Rosenwinkel's also pivotal to the album for his versatility; like the saxophonist, he's consistently able to tailor his attack to the style of the material in play, and of course the same could be said of the three others. Kicking genre concerns to the curb, the quintet blazes into the breathless title track, straddling jazz, swing, and rock as naturally as breathing. Rosenwinkel and Snidero deliver the soaring theme in unison before the guitarist brings the heat and the leader follows with his own inspired turn, the playing of both buoyed by the drive of the rhythm section and the high standard of musicianship set by all five. Not to be outdone, Evans weighs in with his own rousing statement, and Farnsworth even gets a moment to shine too. A ridiculously high bar set, the quintet cools the furious pace for the relaxed groove of “Infinity,” the tempo ideal for coaxing a solo from Snidero that's by turns funky, singing, smooth, and acrobatic and one from the guitarist that's probing and explorative. Rosenwinkel opens “It Might As Well Be Spring” with a lyrical intro that opens the door for a characteristically expressive statement by Snidero. Just as one's starting to think the cover'll be a duet, the others join in, but understatedly so as not to spoil the intimate mood. Three Snidero originals follow, the breezy “Nowhere to Hide,” the soulful “Obsession,” and bluesy “Pat” (Martino, not Metheny)—all distinguished by the one-two punch of the front-liners, an attack by Rosenwinkel that can be both liquidy and scalding, and unfailingly swinging support from the rhythm section. Shifting gears, the Tyner cover moves the playing into deep ballad mode, with the tune eliciting thoughtful ruminations by Snidero, Rosenwinkel, and Washington. Technique and imagination merge splendidly in Snidero's playing, and when that happens it inspires those around him to execute in kind. When a discography is as packed as his is, it makes more sense to describe Far Far Away as a stellar addition to it rather than try to gauge where it might stand hierarchically. As solid as the new release is, it's the accumulated body of work Snidero's produced that deserves to be appreciated more than any one recording. February 2023