False Ghosts, Minor Fears is the new release by See Through 4, the newest project from Windsor, Nova Scotia jazz bassist Pete Johnston. Johnston — better known for his work with the Juno awarded Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra — acts as composer, band director, and bassist for the record. The quartet features Karen Ng on saxophone, Marilyn Lerner on piano, and Nick Fraser on drums.

The record has a strong bebop voice. This is highlighted in the first minute of the opening track “Another Word For Science”, which starts full-band with a walking swing and balanced tension. The swing is quickly resolved with some unison parts, and by second 45 — when the first piano solo begins — it feels like an introductory mini-tune has been played. The piano, with little backing at first, takes a turn for the experimental early on, makes some interesting conversation, and tastefully merges back into the main theme. This back and forth repeats a couple times, giving each instrument a spot to shine. I find that “Another Word for Science” represents the album and band well, making for a great introduction.

Production sound is minimalist and detailed, aiming for an accurate live character. I find, for example, that the level of bass on (good) headphones represents sharing a room with a kick drum, toms, and stand-up very well. The quality of the sound is capitalized on by the band, as they all explore the acoustics of their instruments during the more experimental improvised sections. There are plenty of sax honks, bass ghost notes, and spanked piano chords to enjoy, but the nuanced sound of the recording is best represented by Fraser’s articulate drumming. It sounds like almost every rim, edge, and inch of cymbal gets tastefully played at some point.

Improvisation is naturally a great part of False Ghosts, Minor Fears, and the record features a surprising amount of bold choices that land gracefully. The performers are confident and adventurous in their playing, and you can tell they have great fun interacting with one another. The ensemble fits very well together. Solos and improvised sections are also well produced, having the band recombine into different duos and trios for effect, and also giving each musician a full single-instrument solo at some point in the record. It’s remarkable that all of these solos are not only well-executed, but expressive and in good service of the songs.

All that improvisation is brought together by Johnston’s cohesive composition work. The tunes feature inspired, complex-yet-accessible melodies, highlighted in track 6, “Not A Half Stepper,” as well as the previously mentioned “Another Word For Science”. The compositions are harmonically and rhythmically rich, written in a vocabulary that is unmistakably jazz yet also has a distinct signature. They smoothly flow through style conventions and dynamics in a very entertaining way, and also complement each other and the record well. I favour track 3, “With Scars To Show”, because I’m a sucker for good groove and bass solos. It also has a sprawling melody with a great just-outside-of-soul sound.

I feel like my tolerance for experimental sounds grows along with my listening, but there is always a delicate balance wherein a good enough narrative is necessary for improvised exploration to sound convincing. I find the narrative in False Ghosts, Minor Fears to be quite compelling, and the record as a whole to be a surprisingly good casual listen for a full-length jazz release that stretches this much creatively.

See Through 4: WEB