There aren't that many guitarists who can claim to have played alongside both John Zorn and Norah Jones. But Adam Rogers, whose credits also include stints with Regina Carter, Elvis Costello, the Mingus Orchestra, and Simon Shaheen, and who was co-leader of the respected fusion band Lost Tribe, is nothing if not broad minded. The nice thing is that in his work as a leader he lets his wide range of experiences influence his playing without feeling the need to showcase all of them individually; instead, he plays in a generally quite straight-ahead style, with a unique combination of a warm, intimate tone and a sometimes aggressive attack. His compositions are highly sophisticated -- occasionally maybe just a bit too much so. On one or two numbers on Allegory it becomes a chore to try to follow the chord progressions, though Rogers' playing and that of saxophonist Chris Potter are incisive and interesting enough to make it worth the effort. But in most cases, Rogers' sharp musical intelligence works very much in the music's favor -- note in particular the thrilling rhythmic intricacy of "Was," and the blindingly quick guitar obbligatos that he layers subtly in the background. On "Red Leaves" he displays admirable classical guitar technique, and the slightly beboppish "Purpose" brings the body of the program to an exciting close. Recommended. - Rick Anderson
Jazz used to be a form of popular music, and indeed a folk music in its own right, before bebop intellectualized it and hard bop institutionalized it. That was a sad development in a way because the music drifted away from the public and ended up holed up in a tiny "art music" niche. When free jazz hit in the '60s, there was no mistaking that jazz would never really go back.
Guitarist Adam Rogers is committed to making serious music for serious listeners. His debut, Art of theInvisible (Criss Cross, 2002), brought an already active sideman to the full attention of the jazz world, and the new quintet disc Allegory offers music of a similarly high caliber. Rogers is a traditionalist in every sense, whether it be in his playing, his group concept, or his compositions (all originals here), but the state of the jazz tradition is an advanced one indeed at this point. Modern jazz, as a category or just a plain description, works as good as any when it comes to describing Allegory.
Rogers paces his compositions. "Genghis" works through arranged melodic phrases (mostly consisting of his instrument placed carefully alongside Chris Potter's tenor sax), loose reunions (more flexible and open), and explicit soloing (Rogers swinging bumpily along, almost funky but not quite there). He makes a conscious use of different meters: three, four, five, six, and seven are all featured on the record, sometimes in the same piece. The band sticks together through the changes, hiding them away and maintaining forward motion. "Orpheus" goes from six to seven and back, taking advantage of Rogers' switch to nylon to reinforce a pensive mood before the piece shifts to a higher gear.
Other than Rogers, the most forward voices on this record belong to saxophonist Chris Potter and bassist Scott Colley. Potter is responsible for most of the edgy feel when the music turns energetic, and Colley has a way of judiciously placing notes into various situations in order to round out harmonies and anchor the music.
The very same seriousness that gives Allegory its heft ironically subtracts from its effectiveness. Melodies are so focused that they rarely stick in your mind, the various changes in the music are abstract beyond ready comprehension, and the playing is so under control that it never really flies free. (Chris Potter provides just about all of the exceptions.)
I guess Adam Rogers has become too sophisticated for his own good. He's obviously talented in just about every respect, but I just wish he would loosen up and get a little closer to the real roots of the music, a place where regular people can pick up the message without putting on a heavy thinking cap and listening over and over again. Could just be me... - AAJ Staff
Tracks
01. Confluence
02. Phrygia
03. Was
04. Genghis
05. Angle Of Repose
06. Orpheus
07. Red Leaves
08. Cleveland
09. Purpose
10. Angle Of Repose (Reprise)
SCOTT COLLEY bass
CLARENCE PENN drums
ADAM ROGERS guitar
EDWARD SIMON piano
CHRIS POTTER tenor saxophone
All music composed by Adam Rogers
Recorded Dec. 21, 2002 in Brooklyn, NY
Criss Cross Jazz – Criss 1242 CD