Artist:     Nate Hook

Album:     Progressive Overload

Label:     Self Released

Release Date:     10/28/16

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I’m not all that sure where I stand with Nate Hook’s Progressive Overload but I do know, with his ears set to the future with his foundations in the past, there will be fun listening going forward.

Falling into the jazz spectrum somewhere between Bird and Zappa, Hook’s gutsy, muscular sax bites into his swirling compositions like a tornado in his home state of Texas while his tunes stretch like an far open prairie. Moving East to absorb New York’s rich jazz heritage, Hook bonds with pianist Billy Test, guitarist Travis Reuter, bassist Louis De Mieulle and drummer Paolo Cantarella, to drop beats, shift meter, mash and open up new possibilities. Leaving ample room for his cohorts to set the stage and fire up all around him, distinctly buoyant and unwinding melodies bounce about on the time shifting “Lantern Face,” the punchy “You Probably Thought This Would Be Fun,” and the rubato/gospel of “Stabat Ego.”

At 24, Hook’s off to a galloping start.

—Mike Jurkovic