by Adorjan Horvát
In a career that bridges the bandstand, the conservatory, and the printed page, Bruce Gertz has long stood as one of jazz bass’s clearest thinkers and most quietly powerful architects. On Octopus Dreams, the bassist-composer offers a suite of originals that move fluidly through post-bop, modal lyricism, and Latin-inflected feel, with each piece operating with the logic of water, shape-shifting yet structurally sound. This is music of motion and lift, delivered by a quintet with trust, balance, and shared vocabulary.
From the opening bars of “Power Walk,” Gertz establishes a post-bop frame grounded in melodic clarity and counterpoint. The blended trumpet/tenor harmonizations immediately set a tone of modern craftsmanship. Gertz’s solo is singing in the upper register and anchoring with a deep, resonant tone. His intonation is pristine, his lines sure-footed and expressive. Phil Grenadier’s trumpet solo entry lifts the energy with joyful buoyancy, while Rick DiMuzio’s tenor saxophone solo threads warmth and drive through the harmonic fabric. It’s an introduction to the album that is sturdy and exploratory, showing the ensemble’s chemistry.
“Octopus Dreams” paints the world in color. Grenadier’s flugelhorn and DiMuzio’s tenor float over a supple, medium-tempo Latin feel. Gertz and drummer Gary Fieldman work together in long phrases, creating depth rather than pulse alone. Gilson Schachnik’s piano comments support the feel with modern chordal turns and flowing harmonic currents. Gertz’s solo emerges as lyrical, expressed across the bass’s range, and technically fluid.
“Sea Worthy” continues the aquatic thread, this time with post-bop style sailing atop a resilient groove. Each solo sounds like another facet of the journey of the composition’s form. Gertz again stepping into the soloist role early, DiMuzio gliding atop the changes with confident intervallic lines, Grenadier adding heat, and Schachnik delivering a solo that balances earthy blues language with modernism. Fieldman’s closing drum solo arrives as a cresting wave, with his patterns being responsive and declarative, releasing its energy before easing to rest.
On “Mr. Z,” the ensemble shifts into a medium-slow jazz waltz. The horns unfurl the melody with airy balance, and Gertz’s time feel is clear, grounded, and filled with counterpoint, forming the connective tissue across the group. DiMuzio’s tenor playing is especially elegant here, outlining harmonic architecture with precision. Schachnik’s solo is gentle yet magical, inviting without sentimentality, hovering like light over evening water.
“I’m Busy” introduces a more urban swing vocabulary with modern rhythmic turns, a riff-based melody, and a medium-up burn that recalls the forward thrust of New York hard-bop while adding harmonic sophistication. DiMuzio’s solo flows with purpose, Grenadier leans into intervallic gamesmanship and sustain, and Schachnik’s chorus stretches from blues grit to super-imposed pentatonic color, creating an elastic language. Fieldman punctuates with dancing drum commentary, yielding momentum in conversation.
With “Opening,” Gertz offers a straight-eighth, modal canvas with space rather than proclamation. The composition acts like a kind of musical exhale, sunlight through clear water within the album’s flow. Fieldman’s time is driving yet air-light, never forceful; the solos speak conversationally. It’s a fitting final chapter, and a deep expression of melody, breath, and ensemble touch above all.
“Redacted” is a reminder of Gertz’s compositional inventiveness. A modern Latin piece, it twists familiar vocabulary into fresh shapes, using “Giant Steps” cycles as pivot points, re-contextualizing tradition without leaning on homage. The horn lines are seamless, the harmonic movement natural but surprising. Gertz’s writing knows where to invite and where to challenge. It’s an example of creative evolution within lineage in both composition and performance.
Octopus Dreams is a record that charts the terrain of modern jazz composition rooted in a post-bop language, infused with Latin breath, framed by a listening quintet with shared intention. Gertz’s bass and compositions are an anchor and a guide, a storyteller, and the dreamer at the center of the octopus’s imagination. For those who seek jazz that balances intellect and lyricism, structure and ease, navigation and surrender, this album rewards deep listening. That’s the short of it!
