Damaged In Transit presents the jazz power trio of bassist Steve Swallow, saxophonist Chris Potter, and drummer Adam Nussbaum. These musicians have played together for a few years but are all seasoned and in demand artists in their own right. Swallow's prolific session work and recordings testify to his versatility. Potter is a dynamic saxophonist whose recent stints on his own and with Dave Holland or Steely Dan have proven his ability. Nussbaum, a long time drum master, has recorded with the likes of John Abercrombie and Patricia Barber. The musical chemistry between the musicians is clear and each one accentuates the other's performance on Damaged in Transit.
Recorded live in France in 2001, the concert seems to focus loosely on blending melodies with keen interaction. The selections (all entitled "Item") traverse the jazz scope with a variety of styles and expressions. "Item #1" is delivered as a heavy post bop swinger with Potter getting a thorough and robust workout on tenor sax as Swallow and Nussbaum drive the tempo. On the moody "Item #3," Swallow delivers a dark and angst filled bass throb as Nussbaum fills the air with cymbals and an occasional tom echo. This piece segues into "Item #4," with Swallow delivering one of his trademark bass solos and Potter and joining in on the up-tempo melody. Each item is filled with this same creative flux that keeps the recording spontaneous but imbued with a musical purpose. Highlights include the Potter's tenor range on the peaceful yet interesting "Item #7," the cool tropic flair of "Item #8," and Nausbamm's solo outro on "Item #2," which proves that this is not your typical jam session. - Mark F. Turner
Whatever a real contemporary jazz record is, this one would probably meet the criteria of any jury. Damaged In Transit is a no-frills, flat-out, brilliantly executed piece of stylistically-sweeping jazz jamming, with nothing else to listen to but some very long sax solos on very direct and outwardly simple tunes, underpinned by Swallow's elegant bass-playing and Adam Nussbaum's rumbly, Elvin Jones-like drumming.
The saxophonist is the Dave Holland stalwart Chris Potter, spectacularly ransacking every storehouse of sax wisdom. Swallow's band has included guitarist Mick Goodrick in the past but, as a trio, a lot depends on Potter - and he rises to the encouragement here with a tumbling energy to match his depth and sophistication.
In the spirit of the title, the tracks are given numbers (Item 1 etc) rather than names, but several of them sound pretty close to the insouciant swing, walking-pace Rollins-like calypso, spiky Monkish bop and film-noir blues mix that featured on Swallow's last disc and the quartet version's live shows in 2000. But the playing is wonderful all round, and Potter has rarely sounded freer to roam across styles.
The opener sounds like a bebop tune approached from several different directions, before snapping into fast swing and a long Potter tenor solo built from blocks of contrasting motifs, raucous echoes from old 1960s Blue Note sax odysseys and squealing high-register split sounds. Steve Swallow's soft and slinky electric bass sound often links or introduces the pieces with understated musings, and Adam Nussbaum is at his most imperious under the bluesy slither of Item 2.
Potter tears through a knowing piece of classic fast bebop, close to the throatiness of a baritone sax, Sonny Rollins's weighty, smoky-toned swing and Charlie Parker's melodic agility. But he can also be startlingly tender - as in the fragile high sounds and dynamic control of Item 7 - or meticulous about the weighting of notes, as in Item 8's slow calypso, like Rollins trying to play without waking a baby. Damaged in Transit this stuff definitely wasn't. - John Fordham
Tracks
1. Item 1, D.I.T.
2. Item 2, D.I.T.
3. Item 3, D.I.T.
4. Item 4, D.I.T.
5. Item 5, D.I.T.
6. Item 6, D.I.T.
7. Item 7, D.I.T.
8. Item 8, D.I.T.
9. Item 9, D.I.T.
STEVE SWALLOW bass
ADAM NUSSBAUM drums
CHRIS POTTER tenor saxophone
Recorded live on tour in France, December 2001
XtraWATT/ECM Records - XtraWATT/11 / XtraWATT - 067 792-2