If it seems we’ve been putting out a lot of articles about trumpeter Dan Rosenboom lately, it’s because Rosenboom’s been making a lot of (really good) records lately. Points on an Infinite Line is his third one released since the beginning of 2020 if you include a charged duet with drummer Matt Mayhall. As this one was laid to tape — in his garage, no less — just weeks before Covid-19 shut everything down, this could be the last of Rosenboom’s blast of recording activity for a while, but he’s made the most of his time while he’s had it.
Points on an Infinite Line is perhaps his first all-acoustic album but you might not even notice, because Rosenboom brings the same audacious, highly spontaneous approach he’s infused into all of his records. It’s a chordal-free quartet made up of Rosenboom (trumpet), Gavin Templeton (alto saxophone), Billy Mohler (double bass), and Anthony Fung (drums & percussion), and you can be sure that you won’t miss the keyboard or guitar. You won’t miss the near-absence of jazz swing, either, as these guys love to rock out their jazz, even if no rock instruments were used in the making of this record.
“Momentum” certainly struts around like a rock song, and Fung has a lot to do with that. Mohler takes full control of the serpentine thematic line and makes it menacing and Rosenboom certainly isn’t backing down when he takes his solo turn. “Fellowship” is a lot like “Momentum,” another threatening bass figure that forms the basis of the melody as Rosenboom makes a series of precise statements and Templeton takes chances and contorts his sax to sound almost like a human whine.
“A Force For Good” begins with Fung’s trap kit explosions before the Rosenboom/Templeton front line jumps in with a short theme and then with the stage set by Mohler’s tightly wound progressions, Templeton’s lights his alto sax on fire. Not to be outdone, Rosenboom responds with impossibly proficient notes cleanly crammed close together. Mohler has an a cappella moment at the start of “Solidarity,” a prelude to his catchy bass riff that forms the foundation for a song marked by Rosenboom and Templeton trading fours.
Some of Rosenboom’s unpredictability and out-of-the-box thinking in his music sometimes involve the use of electronics but “Impulse and Influence” shows he can get very creative and idiosyncratic in so many other ways. The song begins with Templeton alone making chirpy remarks but by the time we’re halfway done, Rosenboom has the band off to the races. As Templeton re-enters, Fung bows out for a while, leaving Mohler to maintain the frantic pulse.
Even more packed with surprises is “A Moment of Clarity,” a series of moments where everyone is just going for it, one after another, while the tempo keeps lurching from one rhythm to another.
The Mohler/Fung groove machine does its best work on the flat-out funky “Come Humble,” and the horn guys are clearly reveling in that pocket. The closer “2020” is a short tune with a circus-like head that sandwiches Templeton and Rosenboom going off the rails together. Kind of like how this year has been so far, am I right?
No matter how Dan Rosenboom makes music, it’s always going to be bold, thrilling and teeming with musicianship. There were no sockets used to perform Points on an Infinite Line, yet there’s plenty of electricity.
Points on an Infinite Line will drop August 14, 2020 through Orenda Records.
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