SOARING

On Soaring, Don Ellis straddles a line between jazz fusion and more conventional jazz forms. In addition to electric guitar, bass guitar and electric keyboards, the trumpeter is accompanied by full big band with a large wind section and a string quartet, which fans of the typical 70s jazz fusion sound may not be particularly charmed by. I too must admit that on some of the weaker tracks like "Go Back Home" or the ballad "Invincible", the strings and general instrumentation make the music sound rather overblown and cheesy. "Image Of Maria" is the most mystifying track of all: it sounds less like a jazz song and more like a Morricone-esque piece of film music, although that comparison is probably overselling it. The main theme sounds pretty but it just sort of peters out anticlimactically after three minutes.

Still, there's enough to like about the album. The first three tracks show a funk influence but are sure to spice themselves up with uneven rhythms (as on "Whiplash", popularized by the 2014 movie of the same name), a gradual buildup of intensity (as on "Sladka Pitka") or with intricate contrapuntal melodic lines (as on "The Devil Made Me Write This Piece"). The latter two pieces especially showcase the big band at its best, with the orchestral timbre and large array of players helping these tracks come to life beautifully. Ellis himself also plays some great solos throughout, the best being on "Sidonie" near the end of the album. I don't think the album as a whole is consistently interesting enough to warrant more than a three-star rating, but there is in fact good stuff happening here.