JEREMY UDDEN, “Plainville”

JEREMY UDDEN, “Plainville”

Fresh Sound News Talent Records (FSNT 330)

Fans of Jimmy Guiffre will hear a kindred spirit in young Jeremy Udden, who grew up in Plainville, Mass. Giuffre played clarinet at the opposite end of the reed spectrum from Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.

Giuffre had a soft though pure tone that always reminded me of the woody notes you would associate with elves living happily in deep, dark forests. Those deep, dark forests always interested me more than the elves. And Giuffre seemed to feel the same way.

Udden also understands the mystery of places that can feel pastoral on the surface. In the liner notes he writes, “Plainville is located in the rural area halfway between Boston and Providence.” There’s a photo on the CD cover of a folksy general store with a front porch. The kind where farmers in bib overalls would sit around talking about the size of their crops.

Fans of the David Lynch movie “Blue Velvet” will also feel a connection, remembering how the pretty town’s Norman Rockwell look also had an underside of drugs and violence. Sometimes we forget that every picturesque woodland is full of animals trying to eat each other alive. That’s just nature in action.

Udden plays alto and soprano saxophones, inviting guitarist Brandon Seabrook to bring along his banjo, and keyboards guy Pete Rende to also play some pump organ (which sounds like a beefy accordion). Eivind Opsvik is on bass, R.J. Miller at the drums. Three special guests add more guitar and sax colors.

All nine tracks were written by Udden, whose earlier album “Torchsongs” also took jazz into some place it had never been before. “Plainville” begins with the open-faced innocence of plain-spoken harmonies and a gentle pace, then adds melodies tinged by sadness and regret.

Sometimes these bittersweet songs build into atonal conflicts that feel like the primal screams of suppressed people desperate for relief. Other times there are solemn passages rigid as a Baptist preacher defiantly daring anyone to step out of line – all the while smiling in that frozen-faced way of many ministers on the front line just doing their job.

The emotions contained in “Plainville” may be subtly expressed, but they are always heartfelt and complex. Every playing will offer something new to the thoughtful listener. As they always said back home, “Still waters can run deep.”

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