Sara Caswell's 'The Way to You': Jazz violin is comfortably first among equals

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Sara Caswell came from Bloomington to develop her career in New York.
Sara Caswell's current quartet's decade in the performing arena, interrupted as for every musician by the worst phase of the pandemic, has built the internal cohesion and comfort level needed to make "The Way to You" (Anzic Records) a success.

There's not a doubt about the violinist's well-honed rapport with her bandmates: Jesse Lewis, guitar; Ike Sturm, bass; Jared Schonig, drums. At the start and on four of the nine tracks, there are also collegial contributions from the vibraphone of Chris Dingman. Caswell's violin melody on "South Shore" picks up a countermelody from the vibes. That function is later taken up in a different vein by Lewis' guitar. Everything fits, but with each player's individuality intact.

Caswell's sterling command of melody is never far from the surface. Even a simplistic tune like Sturm's "Stillness" opens up without any wrenching effect, inviting a playful solo from the bandleader. The composer's solo is neatly framed by guitar and hand percussion, then builds through a crescendo as the drums heat up. 

Sturm takes another pungent solo on "Warren's Way," a waltz Caswell wrote for her partner, Michael W. Davis. It's always the leader who sets the tone, however. In her solo on Kenny Barron's "Voyage," the violinist displays no over-obvious note choices, but also no straining for effect. 

The evident spontaneity she apparently encourages exerts its force steadily, as in the bicycle-inspired "Spinning." The open-air freedom is underlined by the pulsations of the vibes. Everyone's style is acutely adjusted to the material: The wee-small-hours power of "Last Call," funky and with a heavy backbeat, brings forth more "attitude" than usual from the guitar.

Tempos are flexible when need be, as in the clever slowing of the Latin pulse in "7 Aneis," where the violinist uses double stops, backed by Schonig's accompaniment on brushes. The title tune, Michel Legrand's "On My Way to You," features a guitar solo with just enough sting to represent the presumed pathos of the lyrics. 

The disc ends with Caswell picking up the Hardanger d'amore, a recently devised hybrid violin/viola with five sympathetic strings lending an aura to the sound of bowed strings. The vehicle is the Brazilian master Jobim's "O Que Tinha de Ser," and it ensures that the magic of "The Way to You" will stay in your ears a while.

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