Built mostly while studying at the Eastman School,
No Such Thing is a collection of ideas in the realm of young jazz, just walking the line between keeping up with the transcriptions of the greats and forming entirely new ideas.
Matt Vashlishan holds court for the majority of the album on a mix of alto and soprano sax work, quietly finding the right mood and delivery style for each composition (most penned by
Vashlishan himself). He croons his way through a sunny, guitar-laden bit of contemplation in "Sailing," takes up touches of bop technique in "Amalgamation," and honks his way through
Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge." Along the way,
Vashlishan is backed up ably by
David Liebman, trading sax turns in the front when appropriate, and guitarist
Vic Juris, forming lush ambient backgrounds over which the saxes play. The striking thing here isn't really the playing, though it's certainly good. It's the compositions themselves. The variety of styles, time signatures, and deliveries here works itself out as something of a portfolio, showing all of the things
Vashlishan has played with and promising more of what he can do once he chooses a subgenre to hold in. It's a fine listen, and the wholly strong core promises a lot more in future outings. ~ Adam Greenberg