Scott Hesse

The Flame Within the Fire

Scott Hesse, guitar; Mark Sherman, vibraphone; Sebastian Weiss; piano; Bob Bowen III, acoustic bass; Dan Weiss, drums.

The Flame Within The Fire is a powerful and very personal artistic statement from guitarist Scott Hesse. Central to this thesis is the notion that the improvised art form cannot always be reduced to the level of triadic harmony and simplistic /charts. Hessets music is all about dialogue and development within an expert ensemble; students of next-generation improvised musical art should benefit from the advanced ideas presented here.

In seven original pieces, clichéd, virtuoso displays are avoided in favor of a decidedly original harmonic concept. Especially on the futuristic title track, the ensemble demonstrates a masterful command of chromatics and orchestral color; Weisst improvisation is a gas. And the leader invites comparisons with guitarist Jim Hall only to the extent that his music is consistently challenging and unpredictable.

This is an excellent session.

James D. Armstrong, Jr.

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