By: D. Oscar Groomes, O’s Place
Sam Newsome is a world-class jazz saxophonist, educator, composer and experimentalist. Chaos Theory is his latest endeavor, a solo effort that includes a variation of his soprano sax, inserting a rubber tube between the horn and mouthpiece extending the range and character of the horn. Newsome’s take on free jazz means pushing his sax(s) to lay down steady rhythms over which he can overlay intriguing melodies. It is eclectic but it’s far less disruptive than most free jazz outings. It works
because there’s no counter chaos going on to the point of frustrating the listener. Sam captures the sound of an active safari on “Chaos Theory No.2”. followed by the cool bounce of “Urban Location” a couple of our favorites.