05/31/11

Nate Wooley Quintet
(Put Your) Hands Together
Clean Feed

By Bill Milkowski

The always daring trumpeter Nate Wooley taps drummer Harry Eisenstadt, bassist Eivind Opsvik, vibraphonist Matt Moran and, on bass clarinet, Josh Sinton for his smart and subversive Clean Feed debut. The blend between bass clarinet, trumpet and vibes is particularly arresting on pieces like the plaintive rubato number “Erna,” the frenetic “Elsa,” the frantically swinging “Cecelia” and the bombastic title track, all of which rekindle memories of Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch! Wooley also delivers two avant-garde solo trumpet pieces in “Shanda Lea 1” and “Shanda Lea 3,” and pairs with Sinton for a compelling and freewheeling duet on “Shanda Lea 2.”