Reed Song

Review

Accordion virtuoso Will Holshouser fashions an offbeat, richly textured trio concept on Reed Song, teaming with trumpeter Ron Horton and double bassist David Phillips (drummer Kevin Norton guests on two tracks). There's a wonderfully romantic quality to these ten original pieces. Holshouser blends jazz with various roots influences and takes composition very seriously -- these are tightly woven tapestries, not bare-bones sketches or paroxysms of free improv. But spontaneity, too, has a place at the table, and each player has the chops necessary to make sparks fly. The moods are strikingly diverse as well, from the darkly hued "Tang" and "Unfried" to the comic, lighthearted "Sparkle of Never," to name only a few highlights. Like his colleague Matt Munisteri, Holshouser knows how to eschew categories, refurbish old-world sounds, and grab the ear with airy, attractive melodies.