X DOT Jazz Sampler I

The best of jazz from the X DOT 25 Music label — a collection of compositions from X DOT 25 Music's world-class jazz musicians.

With this extraordinary anthology in hand, you are standing on the proverbial tip of the iceberg, for beyond the twelve tracks gathered here looms a massive music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. Perhaps iceberg is too cool an image; what's happening in this community is red hot. But these progressive sounds most definitely form a tip — the advance guard of what Ornette Coleman once prophetically called "The Shape of Jazz to Come." — Derk Richardson, San Francisco Bay Guardian

In the strictly commercial terms of record sales, San Francisco is the second largest market in the United States. In terms of creativity, however, the Bay Area plays second fiddle to no one. You can add guitar, saxophone, keyboards, trumpet, bass, drums, percussion, and vocals to that list as well, judging by the talents assembled between the bookends of Dann Zinn's intriguing opening contribution and Hafez Modirzadeh's evocative conclusion.

Awareness of Northern California's musical ferment has grown in recent years with the high profile of such players as guitarist Charlie Hunter, saxophonist/composer Peter Apfelbaum, and the three-guitar band T.J. Kirk. X DOT producers and co-compiler Doré Stein have turned their sharply tuned ears to the broader context from which those young stars have risen. From a teeming cauldron of acid jazz, free improvisation, Latin and world music, and fusion that defies the common connotations of the term, they have plucked an exemplary batch of equally gifted contemporary innovators — whether signified by the name of the leader, such as Andre Bush, or a provocative group moniker like 3 Bean Salad.

Celebrated guest stars pepper this recording: bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Al Foster in guitarist Paul Mousavi's rhythm section, and saxophonist Steve Coleman blowing with pianist Vijay Iyer. Note also names in the credits like Paul Hanson (revolutionizing the jazz bassoon), John Yi (Fatty Boom Boom), John R. Burr (a ubiquitous keyboard master), brothers Mark and Paul Van Wageningen, and Will Bernard (T.J. Kirk, Jai Uttal, Peter Apfelbaum).

As evidence of the scene's sense of community, witness the varied and more than coincidental cross-collaborations — Hafez Modirzadeh joining Ann Dyer & No Good Time Fairies, Dann Zinn switching to alto on Wally Schnalle's "Scratch Shot," Dred Scott stretching the keyboard sounds for President's Breakfast, Paul Van Wageningen drumming with both Zinn and Claudia Villela. It is as a representation of this fertile grassroots community, in all its diversity and experimental power, that X DOT's jazz sampler promotes the interests of exciting original music everywhere.

— Derk Richardson