Audrey Ochoa: Frankenhorn
Chronograph Records

With Frankenhorn as a title and photographs showing Audrey Ochoa striking playful poses, the Canadian jazz trombonist's third album veritably shouts irreverence. Its eight tracks are playful, too, yet they're not without substance, this classically trained artist being careful to ensure her music doesn't lapse into frivolity. Ochoa's clearly someone who believes seriousness and playfulness can go hand in hand.

She's also amenable, as shown by the developmental trajectory of the album. Ochoa originally intended her follow-up to 2013's Trombone and Other Delights and 2017's Afterthought to be a collection of duets with pianist Chris Andrew that would then be remixed by electronica DJ Battery Poacher, but Frankenhorn evolved into something quite different, even if the core of that idea remains. During pre-production, the arrangements expanded via the inclusion of bass, drums, percussion, and strings (violinists Kate Svrcek and Shannon Johnson, cellist Ian Woodman), the album eventually evolving into some unusual blend of Latin, jazz, electronica, and pop.

The album endears from the moment its opening “Swamp Castles” rolls out Ochoa's muscular horn enveloped by strings and a punchy groove from bassist Mike Lent and drummer Sandro Dominelli. The leader solos at length, digging into the tune vivaciously and demonstrating well-honed jazz chops. Andrew's elegant piano intro sets a relaxed scene for the subsequent “Benchwarming,”a lightly swinging, Latin-tinged reverie enhanced by Luis Tovar on congas and percussionist Raul Tabera. While both tunes are melodically alluring, even better is the way Ochoa shows how gifted she is as a writer and player.

With her trombone multi-tracked for extra punch, Ochoa revisits the Latin feel in “Bunganga,” this time the tempo faster, the dance groove stronger, and Andrew injecting swing with syncopated piano. In accompanying the leader with Lent and Dominelli only, “Silver Linings” offers a moment to hear the trombonist's blustery attack in a freewheeling trio context, while at album's end a growling Ochoa goes old-school with the blues “My Reward,” this time Lent on acoustic her sole partner.

The remixes are naturally different in production style from the other pieces but appealing nonetheless; further to that, the contrast they bring to the project adds rather than detracts. Battery Poacher's downtempo treatment of “The Huggy Dance” oozes a slight West Coast vibe in its warbly synthesizers and hip-hop pulse, though the presence of Ochoa's horn establishes a through-line to the album's other tracks. Interestingly, the remixer treats “Groundhog Day” to a subtle makeover such that the focus instead shifts to a particularly memorable solo by the leader.

Frankenhorn defies categorizing and expectations in the best way. Jazz is the best fit as a label, but it's an imperfect match when the music includes elements of Latin, pop, and, in its remixes, electronica and, most surprisingly perhaps, hip-hop. Ochoa's clearly an artist with broad tastes and an open mind, and both the album and the listener are better for it.

February 2020