Samantha Boshnack's Seismic Belt: Live In Santa Monica
Orenda Records

Samantha Boshnack fronts not one but three ensembles, the fourteen-member B'shnorkestra, Sam Boshnack Quintet, and now Seismic Belt, a septet whose name references the geographic zones on the Earth's surface where earthquake activity occurs. There's a good reason why the Seattle-based trumpeter chose the name she did: as an avid hiker and traveler, she's long been fascinated by volcanic sites, which in turn prompted an interest in the so-called Ring of Fire, located in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where the majority of the world's volcanoes are found and where approximately ninety percent of its earthquakes occur. She was able to pursue this interest further when a 2018 Make Jazz Fellowship enabled her to work on a commissioned piece over a three-month period, which she then recorded in an April 2018 live performance at Santa Monica's Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences.

Inhabiting somewhat of a middle ground between her other ensembles, Seismic Belt augments Boshnack on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ryan Parrish on tenor and baritone saxophones, Paul Cornish on piano, Nashir Janmohamed on upright bass, and Dan Schnelle on drums with string players, Paris Hurley on violin and Lauren Elizabeth Baba on violin and viola. This orchestra-in-miniature offered Boshnack a wealth of timbres to draw upon in fashioning the arrangements for the recording's eight tracks. If the pieces sometimes turn volatile, perhaps it's designed to reflect (in her words) the “elements of risk and faith in [the] uneasy cohabitation” between the Earth and its human inhabitants.

The compositions focus on the seismic activity occurring along the Ring of Fire, with each zeroing in on a particular phenomenon relating to it. “Kamchatka,” for example, is titled after a peninsula in the Russian Far East that contains 160 volcanoes, twenty-nine of them still active, whereas “Convection Current” refers to the driving force behind tectonic plate movement. It's fascinating to consider the myriad ways by which Boshnack establishes connections between the musical design and the geological content—to cite one instance, “Tectonic Plates” layers musical activity above, below, and alongside the main theme in a way that replicates interactions between different Earth levels—though Live In Santa Monica also can be enjoyed on purely musical grounds with the programmatic content ignored.

Throughout, Boshnack achieves a well-calibrated balance between composition and improvisation. Each piece exemplifies an individuating character, yet room has been carefully woven into the structures to allow space for individual expression. As the recording moves into its final part, “Submarine Volcano,” it begins to feel like a nearly seventy-minute-long concert work Seismic Belt could take on the road and present at any number of venues.

The leader shows herself to be a compelling and assured player as she navigates pathways through the at times intricate design of a given piece. With many settings in the seven- to ten-minute range, the musicians are able to let their solos develop organically without having to end them abruptly. Boshnack takes her share but also grants spotlights generously. Parrish, for instance, contributes a rousing baritone solo to “Tectonic Plates” and a freewheeling tenor one to “Submarine Volcano,” while Cornish impresses with a terrifically expansive turn in “Fuji.” Traces of traditional folk music associated with the indigenous people of the Russian Far East emerge in the swooning theme that grounds “Kamchatka,” something that's also audible in the solos by violinist Baba and upright bassist Janmohamed. An inspired violin intro by Hurley adds to the intrigue of “Choro,” the piece conceived as an homage to volcanic Chile and offering Boshnack and a baritone-wielding Parrish moments to strut gallantly against a backdrop of Latin-tinged rhythms. Schnelle powers the outfit with authority throughout but is at his most volcanic during the roaring coda to “Fuji.”

April 2019