The dogmatists, ideologues,and rigid purists of the jazz world have a lot of silly ideas, and one of them is the notion that jazz musicians aren't legitimate unless they are recording a bunch of warhorses that have already been recorded literally hundreds of times over the years. But truth be told, there is absolutely nothing wrong with jazzmen emphasizing their own material as long as they are talented composers -- and
Mike Clinco's compositions serve him well on the self-produced
Neon. The only song on this 2009 release that the lyrical guitarist didn't write himself is
Henry Mancini's "Charade," which
Clinco performs in a highly introspective fashion. Everything else on
Neon is a
Clinco original, and that includes enjoyable post-bop selections like "Sonship," "Bookends, and the Brazilian-flavored "Amalgam." Post-bop dominates
Neon, although
Clinco ventures into fusion territory when he shows some rock influence on "X Cue Says" and "Beaten Paths." Not only does
Clinco (who features saxman/flutist
Bob Sheppard and flugelhornist Walt Fowler extensively on this 52-minute CD) reject the dogma that jazz artists are obligated to make overdone standards a high priority on all of their albums -- he also rejects the notion that jazzmen should not allow themselves to be influenced by rock under any circumstances. Most of
Neon is straight-ahead post-bop rather than fusion, but even so, the fact that "X Cue Says" and "Beaten Paths" are as rock-influenced as they are demonstrates that
Clinco is not opposed to making some fusion moves when he feels it is appropriate.
Neon is a solid illustration of
Clinco's skills as both a guitarist and a composer. ~ Alex Henderson