By Deuce

With the cast of characters on display on Reaching Out, the latest and most elated album from the James McGowan Ensemble, there’s very few things the collective cannot do.

Now mind you, we’re talking about a horn section that’s four players deep, spanning everything from the trombone to the trumpet, soprano, and tenor saxophones. They’re used to spectacular effect early and often on this one. Sometimes, it’s for literal hits when they all combine for a staccato note (as they do on the title track). Other times, it’s to blend with one another in a jazzy assortment of notes that hangs in the air, dripping over listeners indefinitely (which can also be found on the title track).

The string section consists of no fewer than six players, ranging from violins, to violas, to cellos, and back again. Their coalescence into sumptuous high notes, which is displayed to perfection on “Personal Credo”, is perhaps the least they can do. Nonetheless, it greatly intensifies the drama on this and other numbers.

The ensemble is rounded out with a virtuoso of a drum player, Jamie Holmes, who displays a penchant for melding Latin drum patterns and playing with more conventional jazz work. One can find some of his best efforts on the title cut (obviously, the album is called Reaching Out for a reason), as well as on “Minding My Time”, a number that’s just ripe for selection in a major motion picture soundtrack.

Digression though this might be, it sounds like the tune in the scene from Pretty Woman when the main characters go to the opera. The pianos on it—attributed to McGowan himself—are just that trill and the bass line, mastered by JP Lapensee, is just that smooth. The tune is completely awash in some of McGowan’s finest piano playing on this oeuvre, until the horns barge their way in, vying for the listeners affection.

Before long, however, McGowan’s ivories take command of the scene again, and the ensemble can do no wrong on this one.

The gang even throws in a spoken word artist, for good measure. “Imagine (Part 4)” showcases the verbal musings of Jamaal Akbari over another smooth track, which brings us to yet another delight on this series of recordings: Alex Moxon’s electric guitar. Molded in no small part after George Benson’s, it gives the tunes a deserved sense of depth and perspective.