Douglas Olsen 2 Cents

Douglas Olsen
2 Cents
Self-Produced

Veteran trumpeter Douglas Olsen makes his recording debut as a leader with "2 Cents." A mainstay on the New England scene, Olsen's trumpet and flugelhorn are joined on this recording by Dino Govoni on alto and tenor saxophone, Angel Subero on trombone and guiro, Yaure Muniz on trumpet, Tucker Antell on tenor saxophone, Tim Ray on piano, Dave Zone on bass, Mark Walker on drums, and Ernesto Diaz on congas. These musicians are heard in differing configurations on a program of nine bop and Latin jazz tunes that include a couple of bop classics and Olsen's originals.
 
Olsen's "Tailwind" is an uptempo quartet number that allows the composer to showcase his crisp, bright tone with some fiery playing before Ray takes a hot solo with Zone and Walker adding a crisp groove. Govoni adds tenor sax for the relaxed, strutting groove of the title track, with bassist Zinno taking a solo on a number with the mix of polish and fire that was characteristic of the legendary Clifford Brown-Max Roach quintet. "Critical Mass" is a first-rate straight-ahead hard bop performance with Olsen and Govoni memorably soloing and trading phrases. Olsen's flugelhorn shines on a lovely ballad, "Una Para Ti." The energetic "Passage" is another strong hard-bop quintet performance.

On Dizzy Gillespie's "Algo Bueno" (aka "Woody'n' You"), Angel Subero, Year Munizt, Tucker Antell, and Diaz replace Govoni on this terrific Latin jazz performance. Besides his interplay with Olsen, Subero adds plenty of heat with his trombone solo. Fats Navarro and Howard McGhee collaborated on "Boperation," which is played at a slower pace than usual and spotlights Olsen and fellow trumpeter Muniz.

Kudos to Douglas Olsen for his compositions, superb playing, and leadership of the first-rate musicians heard with him. The result is this outstanding recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. It is available as a download (and perhaps CD) from bandcamp, https://douglasolsen.bandcamp.com/album/2-cents. Here is a performance from Douglas Olsen.