Stephan Crump with Rosetta Trio, Reclamation

By J Howell

It’s not often these days you hear a record or band led by a bassist, but with Reclamation, Stephan Crump shines.

Astute jazz fans may be familiar with Crump’s lengthy association with Vijay Iyer, or for holding down the low end in Jim Campilongo’s Electric Trio—in fact, Crump is responsible for the jarring screech that kicks off Campilongo’s most recent, barn-burning Orange.

With Reclamation, Crump moves from sideman to leader with crack compositional skills and an awful lot of heart. Pigeonholing this record is impossible. Overall, it’ll probably appear in your record store’s “Jazz” section, but compartmentalizing this music does it a disservice. There’s something about Reclamation as a whole that’s smart, at times easygoing, at other times austere, but it defies a simple jazz label just as often as it moves beyond the (admittedly broad) boundaries normally associated with the genre.

Reclamation was released April 20 on Sunnyside Records. The release party for the album will be at the Jazz Gallery in New York on June 3. For more on Stephan Crump, including tour dates and past releases, check out his website.