Kelly Rossum - Renovation Reviews

The name Kelly Rossum may be new to the uninitiated, but he has been around the proverbial block. Rossum has played his trumpet on albums with Minnesota rock music luminaries such as Martin Zellar and the Hardways and Vic Volare and the Volare Lounge Orchestra. Rossum is also involved in several other locally based projects that are mostly jazz oriented. Renovation is the second solo offering under the Kelly Rossum banner that focuses its energies in the jazz realm.

Rift magazine was at a slight disadvantage in this case because this CD has been heavily reviewed by several other music publications before it even showed up at our offices. It has even been cited in the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a “Best local CD of 2004.” Disregarding all the other reviews for this album, I took on the task.

In comparison to Rossum’s previous solo album, this album is more ambitious, and it incorporates a wide variety of outside influences. Contained within this CD are hints of drum ‘n’ bass, Motown, R&B and even the slightest nod to rock. Using these other styles of music helps to explore the possibilities within his music, even elevating it to another place. A solid jazz foundation intermixed with other musical styles is what makes this album truly great. By no means is this a straight-ahead bebop jazz album in the “classic” sense. This is not a smarmy smooth jazz record by any means either. What Rossum managed to do was build upon what he set forth in his debut CD and truly “renovate” himself.

Rossum assembled a top-notch group of musicians for this recording. All of the musicians on this CD are locally based and highly regarded as some of the best jazz musicians in town. Chris Thomson is on tenor saxophone while Chris Lomheim is on piano. The rhythm section, consisting of all-star drummer J.T. Bates and bassist Michael O’Brien, plays superbly, pushing the band along and laying out when the music requires. They also lock into each other remarkably well while supporting the other instruments.

The quintet assembled here has included renditions of “Bugpowder” by legendary jazz [saxophonist] Ornette Coleman and “Little Wing” by inimitable rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. One track on the CD, “Disposable Assets,” was written by O’Brien. Rossum penned the remaining nine tracks on the CD. The tracks that Rossum wrote are very strong, and deserve a hearty listen. I have a feeling that this is but an inkling of what’s to come from Rossum in the future.

The mixing and production (the latter of which was handled by Rossum) are world-class. Each instrument was recorded beautifully and is well-represented on the album.

When an artist puts out a solo album, you tend to realize who the “lead” musician is. This isn’t necessarily the case here. The only flaw I can see with Renovation is that Rossum passed up a good opportunity to make his own playing stand out. He could have really put himself out there, but he didn’t. As a group, the songs are very strong. As individuals, they all play very well, but there isn’t much of an indication that this is a Kelly Rossum CD. The trumpet doesn’t make as strong of a statement as it could have. Nonetheless, this is an album that Rossum should be proud of.

If you are looking to see what kind of jazz music Minnesota can produce, look no further than Kelly Rossum. With this solid second album under his belt, his future looks awfully bright.



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