My Heart
Origin, 2023
8/10
The one time Minneapolis and east coast resident Jeff Johnson brings his exceptional bass playing to these 6 in depth and very collaborative tracks that welcome John Gross, Art Resnick and Billy Mintz.
“Linden Station” opens the listen with Gross’ flowing and bright sax alongside the acrobatic bass plucking and frisky drums, and “Leviathan” follows with 11+ minutes of mature piano and moody bass playing that flows in and out of dreamy moments, soulful gestures and lush jazz textures.
“Companions” and the title track arrive in the middle, where the former blends the glowing tenor sax with bouncy bass and firm keys, while the latter emits an intimate and introspective appeal of elegance and grace.
Towards the end, “Studio City” offers a very unpredictable and exciting approach that touches on free jazz, and “Watercolours” exits with meticulous piano, poetic brass and skilled bass playing, where the album’s best tune book ends the affair with a very unique interaction between the four.
Now residing in Seattle, this quartet actually laid down these tracks in 1991, but then went their separate ways and only reconvened occasionally over the years to play more music together. Now, 32 years later, the music is finally available to the public, and it captures the band’s chemistry following a west coast tour and has certainly aged very well.
Travels well with: Jason Keiser- Shaw’s Groove; Michael Dease- The Other Shoe