Mccullough

Trumpet player and composer Chad McCullough’s fascination with the unique musical mind of Olivier Messiaen was sparked 20 years ago when he first heard the composer’s seminal work, Quator pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the end of time), scored in 1940 by Messiaen for a chamber ensemble comprised of his fellow prisoners in a German camp. “It’s so complex in structure, yet still accessible to the casual listener and completely overwhelming emotionally,” comments McCullough. He has long been interested in utilizing Messiaen’s compositional process as laid out in the composer’s Techniques of My Musical Language, but wanted to “filter them through a setting where the result would yield music that would be conducive to improvisation.” No small task, but on The Charm of Impossibilities McCullough and company deliver on that promise with clarity and conviction.

Chad McCullough, trumpet/composer; Bram Weijters, piano/keyboard/composer; Dave Miller, guitar; John Christensen, bass; Kobie Watkins, drums.

Chad McCullough, trumpet/composer; Bram Weijters, piano/keyboard/composer; Dave Miller, guitar; John Christensen, bass; Kobie Watkins, drums.

Henry McCullough is a very well known guitarist in the U.K. for his career with many major British rock bands including The Wings and Spooky Tooth in the 70's.

Trumpeter Chad McCullough debuted as a leader in 2009 with the superb Dark Wood, Dark, Water (Origin Records). He's stayed busy ever since, recording with The Kora Band—inspired by the sounds of Africa—Tunnel Six, and the two horn, chordless The Spin Quartet, along with two previous modern jazz sets on Origin Records on which he teamed as a co-leader with Belgian pianist Bram Weijters, Imaginary Sketches (2011) and Urban Nightingale (2012). At hand now is the pair's third offering, Abstract Quantities.

We normally think of the blues as homegrown from the American South, but no culture knows the feelings like the Irish, which makes veteran blues rocker McCullough an interesting study in the way the genre transcends cultures. He's shared stages with Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall, and Small Faces, and returned to Memphis in 2000 to compete in the Blues Foundation International Blues Challenge; he came in third, but this powerhouse of a recording sounds like the makings of first place. Kind of skimpy at seven tracks and only 31 minutes, the recording still captures various exciting facets of his chosen genre. The brooding opening number, "Louisiana Woman," inexplicably finds his voice distant and distorted, but perhaps the mystery is intentional; his raspy voice combines with simple but powerful chord changes that keep getting faster. "Walkin' Back to You" is a fiery boogie-woogie-driven blues jam, with McCullough singing urgently as his blistering lines sizzle underneath. "Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool" is laid-back cool in the Eric Clapton tradition, while "Mistreatin' Me" is a pointed emotional jam fueled by the heavy organ harmonies of Mike Lattrell. A lot of what passes for blues these days comes in shimmering production packages, but this hits a cut above by being real, rougher, and raw.