Disappointing Premiere Album from Hennessy 6

from the Amazon.com Web page for the recording being discussed

According to my records, it was exactly two months ago that I wrote my third rant over “music that has responded to COVID-19 by blunting sharp edges, rather than seeking them for stimulation.” Ironically, this would have been about the same time that the jazz label Summit Records released a new album that provoked me in exactly the same way. The title of the recording is The Road Less Traveled, and it is the premiere album of a group called the Hennessy 6.

The leader is trumpeter Sean Schafer Hennessy (not to be confused with the founder of the British synth-pop band Chungking). He is joined by Cully Joyce doubling on tenor saxophone and alto flute, Colin McAllister on guitar, Brad Bietry on keyboards, Jason Crowe on bass (alternating between acoustic and electric), and Chris Gaona on drums. “Backup” is provided by the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony (conducted by Gary Nicholson); and two of the tracks include vocals by Krista Joyce. Of the eight tracks on the album, four are composed by Hennessy, three by Joyce, and one by McAllister.

Mind you, from a technical point of view, all six of the sextet members share a talented command of their respective instruments. There are even moments of engaging exchange work, such as can be found between Hennessy and Joyce in the opening of Hennessy’s “Haunted Eyes.” Nevertheless, each of the individual tracks begins to leave the attentive listener wondering why things are going on for so long (this written by someone that has absolutely no difficulty with an exchange of improvisations that might go on for half an hour, if not longer). My guess is that, in spite of album title, serious jazz listeners are likely to come away feeling that the “road traveled” is an all-too-familiar one that could do with ventures in new directions.