Joel Frahm - The Navigator (2000)

Tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm's second album, The Navigator, follows up on his first effort, Sorry, No Decaf and further marks him as an exceptionally mature-sounding young player with a broad stylistic reach. Frahm's experience as a sideman--with drummer Matt Wilson and pianist David Berkman (heard to excellent effect here) and others--shows in his chameleon-like ability to slide effortlessly between styles, from the outward-bound freedom of Berkman's "Ants" to Frahm's ode to Wayne Shorter, "Fort Wayne," to the meditative and bluesy "Hymn for Don Cherry." It's a talent that marks Frahm more as a greater interpretive stylist than as a composer, and his ability to shape-shift so easily sometimes makes The Navigator seem like an exercise in variety for its own sake. Still, there are moments here, like Frahm's beautiful take on "My One and Only Love" and his interestingly abstract soloing on his own "Shards," where his own conception shines through to great effect. With the rock-solid rhythm team of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Billy Drummond lighting a fire beneath him, Frahm turns The Navigator into a calling card for greater acclaim. --Ezra Gale