Rent Romus' Actual/Actual-Baptismal; Edgetone Records 4225, 2022

 

Richmond California-based woodwinds player, composer, bandleader, and community organizer Rent Romus has a new CD out, and the Jazz world really should stand up and pay attention. Featuring a group of Columbus Ohio cats, Baptismal has Romus adding substantial gains to his sprawling discography. Actual/Actual's blending of Rent's very distinctive alto and soprano saxophone sounds with the trumpet and vibraphone of Josh Strange, Troy Kunkler's drumming, and Gerard Cox's electric and acoustic keyboards yields one mighty pleasurable CD. Disaster Amnesiac has noted the ways in which this release's five tracks sound as if they're if not all improvised, then at the most generated from brief sketches. The quartet moves with admirable quickness, and one can tell that not one of them was slacking while the tape rolled. The music of Actual/Actual is quite Harmelodic, with each member taking leads or supporting positions depending on which of those roles is required of him in the moment. It's clear that these musicians are familiar with the canon, as I've noted emanations of Dolphy, Monk, Ra, and Coltrane on Baptismal. SF Bay Area peeps would also note a nod by Romus to the great Josh Allen at one point, too. That being said, everyone here holds their own here. In a word, Actual/Actual is fantastic. Hopefully Rent makes further stops in Columbus on his way back to Finland and Detroit, places wherein he also taps into his rich musical vision. As stated: Jazz world, take note of Rent!