Wandering with a purpose: guitarist Tomas Janzon's 'Nomadic'

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Guitarist Tomas Janzon is properly peripatetic.

The Swedish-born guitarist Tomas Janzon endured the globally mandated pandemic suspension as a New York jazzman, following his initial U.S. residence in Los Angeles dating from the mid-'90s. His career has encompassed frequent travel as a teacher and performer, so "Nomadic" (Changes Music) sheds light on aspects of a wanderer's way of life.

Vibraphonist Steve Nelson is his sideman travel buddy in this attractive 11-tune set, with two rhythm sections of bass and drums: Jeff Littleton and Tony Austin; Hilliard Greene and Chuck McPherson. 

The opening track establishes the bandleader's amiable control of his band. The rhythmically intricate "Out Door Valley" finds Nelson essential to the shaping of this piece, which also brings forward Janzon's personality as a soft-spoken yet subtly assertive soloist. Involved in six of the tracks, Nelson varies the placement of his instrument's prominence to emphasize the various ways vibes and guitar can work together with the rhythm section.

"Out Door Valley" suggests that Janzon is as attentive to the multilinear development of his ideas as he is to harmony and rhythm. This emerges definitively in his "Letter from JSB," in which the monogram stands for Johann Sebastian Bach. The counterpoint flows naturally, and there is elegant variation of group rapport in "Search for Peace," where Janzon's ballad chops are intact, and the crisp but mellow "Valse Hot," which is distinguished by Littleton's solo, as well as by the bassist's active approach to accompaniment.

To draw upon the bop tradition, there is no need for the band to go further than by linking "Subconscious-Lee" by Lee Konitz and "Hot House" by Tadd Dameron. These are attractive, well-integrated performances of oft-recorded classics.

Travel is both broadening and self-focusing, for musicians as well as for just about everybody. "Nomadic" successfully embraces both benefits clearly, but without overemphasis on the peculiarities of staying on the go. Yet something distinctive about the experience is shared throughout.

 



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