Woodwinds master Caleb Wheeler Curtis has a twist in the way he conducts his music. His main axe isn’t the saxophone, but the stritch – the long, straight alto sax made famous (?) by reed maniac Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Of course, a choice of instrument isn’t enough to make the music worth hearing – you have to play it well and compose the kind of tunes that make that playing shine. Fortunately, Curtis has that covered on his fifth album Ritual, which displays an expert ability to write melodic tunes that give the players a chance to improvise. It doesn’t hurt that he’s assembled a killer group to help him out, from fellow saxist Hery Paz and pianist extraordinaire Orrin Evans to bassist Vicente Archer, guitarist Emmanuel Michael, and drummer Michael Sarin. From the powerhouse riffing of frenzied postboppers “Tenastic” and “Black Box Extraction” to the ECM-like atmospheres of the exploratory “Pond” and “Fantasmas,” Curtis and the musicians exert enough sympatico chemistry, comfortable technique, and sheer pleasure in playing to cast an absolutely beguiling spell. Curtis’ name may not be familiar outside of liner note junkies, but on the evidence of Ritual, it seems unlikely the situation will remain that way for long.
