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American Record Guide

The first striking thing about this album is the number of Gekkers involved. Front and cen­ter is trumpeter Chris, but also included are clarinetist Suzanne, bassist Jason, and pianist Lianna. The notes don’t say, but it seems safe to assume they are related. Trumpet soloist Chris has quite the list of credits; American Brass Quintet for 18 years; principal of St Luke’s Orchestra; faculty member at Mary­land, Juilliard, Manhattan, and Columbia; numerous excellent recordings.

The program opens with three poignant works. In Richard Auldon Clark’s presciently titled …and justice for all?, Chris collaborates with bassist Jason and violist Katherine Mur­dock. In Lance Hulme’s ‘Elegy for a Summer Afternoon,’ Chris and pianist Rita Sloan play a sort of lullaby. Carson Cooman’s ‘Moon Marked’ for trumpet and clarinet got its title from the psychological effects space travel has on astronauts.

The album’s centerpiece is Eric Ewazen’s 13-minute Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Brahms (2010). The theme is from a famil­iar Intermezzo, and Ewazen, Gekker, and pia­nist Sloan treat it lovingly. Gekker is heard on the warm-voiced flugelhorn (as if his trumpet tone is not warm enough).

Richard Aulden Clark’s 10-minute Diver­timento for trumpet, oboe, and viola often reminds me—in its austere timbres and sometimes dissonant harmonies—of music by Stravinsky and Part.

The album ends with more poignancy: Alistair Coleman’s ’Acquainted with the Night’ (trumpet and piano) and Franklin Kiermyer’s ’Peace on Earth’ (the whole Gek­ker clan).

I have always enjoyed Chris Gekker’s warm sound. Here, for variety, I wish for some fire and brilliance.