Deluge - Michael Mason

One of the frustrating problems with some straight-ahead acoustic jazz (be it hard bop, post-bop, swing, classic jazz, or Dixieland) is what could be described as "the warhorse syndrome" -- in other words, an artist will record an album of nothing but the most overdone standards and approach them in a totally predictable way. That isn't to say that every improviser who comes along needs to be totally groundbreaking or that warhorses must be excluded altogether, but it is nice when jazz artists do their homework and find some worthwhile songs that haven't been recorded hundreds of times. Thankfully, Michael Mason does his homework on Deluge, which was recorded in 1992 and was the Chicago-based flutist's first album for Southport. Deluge demonstrates that even if a jazzman isn't innovative, he can still keep things interesting by offering a healthy combination of familiar songs and not-so-familiar songs. The CD's well-known standards include John Coltrane's "Cousin Mary" and Wayne Shorter's "Footprints"; those pieces are hardly obscure, but they haven't been beaten to death by flutists -- and in Mason's expressive hands, they don't sound the least bit stale. Of course, a song doesn't have to be a standard to be worthwhile -- some of jazz's lazier singers and instrumentalists seem to forget that, but not Mason. Again, Mason does his homework, which is why Deluge also finds him unearthing some lesser-known instrumentals such as Coltrane's "Mr. Knight," Joanne Brackeen's "Heidi B" and Billy Taylor's "Cag." If jazz is "the sound of surprise" (to borrow Whitney Balliett's term), Mason is on the right track because he offers his share of surprises on this enjoyably promising disc. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide