Venture - Life Cycle (2018)

Right out of the gate it’s shades of Steps Ahead in the tight Mike Mainieri-Michael Brecker type unisons between Mark Sherman’s vibes and Chase Baird’s potent tenor sax on “Life Cycle,” title track of Venture’s auspicious debut. As the piece progresses, Mike Clark fuels the proceedings with his typically hip, syncopated beats while Felix Pastorius bubbles underneath in the subharmonic zone. Baird’s urgent solo here serves notice that the 30-year-old Salt Lake City-bred saxophonist has indeed arrived while his rapid-fire call-and-response exchanges with Sherman bring the piece to a pulse-quickening crescendo. Their fierce, take-no-prisoners approach instantly marks this band as a new force to be reckoned with on the scene. ThroughoutLife Cycle, the band’s principal songwriter deals in lots of harmonic movement and intricate heads. “My writing has become a big part of my voice,” says Sherman, who doubles on piano and vibes here. “I’m not a big band arranger or genius orchestrator, but I can write decent tunes, these vehicles for people to put their voice on.”