Jon Hassell

Trumpeter Jon Hassell returns to ECM, flanked with a ten-member support group, with this poised, humid affair. Much like his previous work, each track exudes a sleek weightlessness, yet also a cloudiness that obscures the contours of each instrumental voice. While ostensibly the leader, the beginnings and ends of Hassell's flowingly ethereal trumpet effusions evaporate into the dense fog emanating from his ensemble. Certain pieces have the same slowed-down, soft-focus strut of Miles' quietly groundbreaking epic "He Loved Him Madly," which opens Get Up With It. But often this is a mere distant echo, the seductive bass lost in the misty textures. The presence of live sample manipulator and Arve Henriksen collaborator Jan Bang is interesting, as this connects Hassell to the work of his could've been Norwegian protégé. While Henriksen's shakuhachi-like elusive lyricism is all his own, hearing similar electronic trickery applied to Hassell makes one wonder if Hassell has drawn some inspiration from the younger player. The final two tracks show Hassell adopting a much more diffuse, breathy tone not unlike the breath-on-cold-glass sound of his younger peer.