Some readers may recall that I first became aware of bassist and composer Joe Fonda through my commitment to keep up with the albums released by the highly adventurous jazz pianist Satoko Fujii. Sadly, my most recent encounter dates all the way back to April of 2022, when Fujii and Fonda jointly released their Thread of Light album. However, this past September I learned that they would be releasing a new quartet album entitled Eyes on the Horizon on Long Song Records; and that album is now available for pre-ordering both the compact disc and digital download through a Bandcamp Web page. The release date will be this coming Friday, November 15.
Wadada Leo Smith, Joe Fonda, Satoko Fujii, and Tiziano Tononi (photograph by David Apuzzo, from the Bandcamp Web page for this album)
Fonda conceived this seven-track album as a tribute to trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Smith performs on this new Eyes on the Horizon album along with drummer Tiziano Tononi joining Fonda and Fujii. Fonda serves as leader of the quartet providing composed content that allows an abundance of opportunities of improvising. Nevertheless, there is frequently (but not always) a restrained rhetoric, which allows Fonda a fair amount of flexibility in his bass work. However, Smith tends to lead the way with his trumpet phrases; and Fujii tends to support Smith’s leadership with more keyboard restraint than I usually encounter!
Where jazz is concerned, I tend to associate the adjective “cerebral” with jazz artists such as Andrew Hill and those that sail under his flag. Nevertheless, there is an intense focus among Fonda and his quartet colleagues that comes across as just as cerebral as Hill’s approaches to improvisation and invention. Furthermore, there is a haunting sense of quietude that allows the attentive listener to appreciate the abundance of angels in all of the details. This is an album that is likely to reward over the course of many listening encounters.
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