With a soft lip and a layered way of writing, L.A. trumpeter Julien Knowles makes your ears do cartwheels in the dark. You bump into things, but there are plenty of cushions.
Knowles writes striking parts for a string quartet a few times when he wants particular heartful effects -- yearning, surging or Cupid's plucked bow. His main tool, though, is his quintet, which makes his idiosyncratic, multipart compositions sound almost spontaneous. His pairing with alto saxist Devin Daniels brings out new sensuality in Daniels' note shaping as the two unite, harmonize and separate in the split narrative referenced in the record's title. The other impressive duo is pianist Javier Santiago and drummer Benjamin Ring, who constantly spark off each other with free energy. (If you're guessing this kind of chemistry was no accident, all four were selected for UCLA's Herbie Hancock Institute.) Dario Bizio's wood-toned standup bass often ends up as the rhythmic center, and he holds it while moving plenty.
Rather than the "Okay, your turn" variety of jazz solos, Knowles wants us to notice a series of short solos, or to acknowledge that improvisers are not just making a statement but going somewhere, meeting someone, turning a corner. And amid well-framed improv fests such as the railroady "The Boot" and the deceptively jammy "Desire Path" sit pieces that invite special study. The sexy story of "Moon Theater," rising to a velvet explosion and an ecstatic dance of nocturnal mystery, paints a shimmering picture. Then the ensuing four tracks through "End of the Night" guide us through the questions, agitations, somber thoughts and dim realizations that two (or more) humans experience, in the language of melody, harmony and dissonance. Without directly referencing Duke, it's Ellingtonian.
Nods to former Kneebody keyboardist Adam Benjamin, who helped with production, and to recordists/mixers Stuart Schenk and Dave Darlington: "Many/One" sounds as warm and inviting as the music requires.
Everything Knowles presents here feels as if he gave it deep thought and room to breathe. A masterful debut.
Listen/buy here.
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Julien Knowles hosts the York Sessions at the York in Eagle Rock on Wednesday nights. He plays with the Devin Daniels Quintet at LACMA's free outdoor music series at 6pm on Friday, June 21.