It seems that the age of the trombone has indeed arrived. I thought the craze was only a New Orleans phenomenon with the advent of Bonerama and its cousin Mulebone, but as it turns out, New Yorkers want to get in on the action as well. As co-founder of the Brooklyn Funk Essentials and Groove Collective, trombonist Josh Roseman has been making waves in the slide horn community, but this intriguing debut takes the alternative trombone to new levels. Cherry defiantly mingles free and avant garde jazz sensibilities with rock swagger, and familiar pop melodies. Few artists would dare cover both Sun Ra and Burt Bacharach within the same album, and even fewer could pull the feat off smoothly. Twelve musicians join Roseman’s Unit including the late trumpeter Lester Bowie, keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Joey Baron and guitarist John Fiuczynski. While the album is indeed scattered in its genre jumping, there is a consistent spirit of playfulness and raucous energy that pervades the outing. Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” is transformed into a bouncy ska number, while the sweet Lennon-McCartney ballad “If I Fell” becomes an odd-metered trippy jazz workout. Roseman brings a wonderfully raunchy edge to the Zeppelin epic “Kashmir” with squawking trombone and acidic guitar solos that whine and howl with unabashed glee. There are some fine originals included on Cherry, most notably the lyrical sway of “Extra Virgin”, but it is the invigorating take on covers which supply the best moments. An especially ingenious choice is the adaptation of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which finds Roseman’s trombone eerily resembling the nonsensical mumbles and barks of Kurt Cobain. Cherry is a fresh, original and wholly enjoyable slice of avant garde that manages to be both complex and accessible at the same time.