Chad McCullough - The Charm of Impossibilities (2023)

Trumpet player and composer Chad McCullough’s fascination with the unique musical mind of Olivier Messiaen was sparked 20 years ago when he first heard the composer’s seminal work, Quator pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the end of time), scored in 1940 by Messiaen for a chamber ensemble comprised of his fellow prisoners in a German camp. “It’s so complex in structure, yet still accessible to the casual listener and completely overwhelming emotionally,” comments McCullough. He has long been interested in utilizing Messiaen’s compositional process as laid out in the composer’s Techniques of My Musical Language, but wanted to “filter them through a setting where the result would yield music that would be conducive to improvisation.” No small task, but on The Charm of Impossibilities McCullough and company deliver on that promise with clarity and conviction.

The musical cohesion evident on Impossibilities is the outgrowth of the deep musical relationships McCullough has cultivated with drummer Jon Deitemeyer and bassist Larry Kohut over the last decade.Their relaxed, intuitive interplay lends buoyancy and a feeling of spontaneity to even the most structured compositions on the record. Listen to the trio’s subtle rhythmic gear shifting on “Former Times Float By.” Eschewing traditional instrumental hierarchies, the three blur the roles of soloist and accompanist.The initial theme weaves in and out of individual and collective offerings, seamlessly dovetailing improvisation and composition.

Conversations with GRAMMY nominated trumpeter and composer Tim Hagans a long-time friend, mentor, and more recently bandmate led to Hagans’ role as producer. “I value his expertise; he was absolutely the right personality to keep things creative in the studio,” says McCullough. He also credits Hagans with the feeling of unity that pervades Impossibilities. This is further reinforced by gestures such as the closing reprise of the meditative “Bee in the Flower,” where the trio is augmented by Jon Irabagon’s soprano saxophone. “I began playing with Jon through Tim Hagans a few years ago and was immediately thrilled,” says McCullough. “He brings so much to the table; it's impossible to overstate all of the ways in which he makes everything and everyone better.” Acclaimed as a sideman with Dave Douglas and Mary Halvorson as well as for his iconoclastic work as a leader, Irabagon is the perfect foil to McCullough from the opening salvo. “Retroactive Resonance” launches Impossibilities with a freewheeling horn line that folds into an earthy groove evocative of the Dave Holland Quintet. The dialogue between the horn players quickly gives way to solo statements, Irabagon’s bristling, angular explorations providing contrast to McCullough’s poignant lyricism. The two then merge into a single voice for the closing ensemble passage.

Throughout Impossibilities the musical language of Olivier Messiaen as spoken by McCullough and friends provides a harmonic and melodic structure that makes the album feel like a unified statement rather than simply a collection of tunes. And yet within this consistent framework, McCullough keeps things surprising and spontaneous, always moving froward and offering the attentive listener many rewards along the way.