The Things I Am

Some jazz improvisers keep so busy in a sideman capacity that they take a long time to start recording as a leader. It isn't that they are opposed to providing their own albums; rather, it's a question of finding the time to do so. Bassist Reuben Rogers had appeared on at least 50 jazz releases when, in late 2005/early 2006, he finally got around to recording his first album as a leader, The Things I Am, at the age of 31. Although some electric instruments are used at times (Aaron Goldberg is heard on both electric keyboards and acoustic piano), this is essentially a straight-ahead post-bop/hard bop effort, and the well-known participants include Joshua Redman (tenor sax), Ron Blake (tenor sax, baritone sax, alto flute), Nicholas Payton (trumpet) and Mark Whitfield (guitar). With that cast, one might expect to hear a stellar, five-star masterpiece; The Things I Am isn't a stellar, five-star masterpiece, but it's definitely respectable. Rogers is clearly a skillful bassist — he has demonstrated that on many occasions — and this 65-minute CD (which he co-produced with Blake) proves that he is a talented composer as well. The Caribbean improviser wrote five of the eleven tracks, including the probing "Alleviation," the contemplative "Anorev" and the reggae-influenced title track (which contains some good-natured baritone sax work from Blake). Rogers embraces a few warhorses (most notably, Jule Styn's "Just in Time" and Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You"), but gratefully, he doesn't inundate listeners with tunes that have been recorded too many times for their own good. Again, The Things I Am falls short of exceptional, but it is a solid outing that makes one glad Rogers finally got around to launching his recording career as a leader.