Most of today’s music, or at least the music that is played by human beings, is made with a fairly small list of instruments: guitars, pianos, bass, drums, saxophones, trumpets, violins and so on. But there are some instruments that tend to be quite specialized, or not shown a lot of respect, the tuba, the ukulele, the accordion. For many years, the banjo was one of those, but Bela Fleck has repeatedly taken the banjo to new places, and also happens to be one of the most skilled and eclectic musicians regardless of instrument. This week, we have a new album by an artist who is determined to take his instrument to different territories. It’s Paul Hanson, who plays the bassoon, and his new album is called Calliope.

The large double-reed instrument is usually found in the back of the woodwind section of symphony orchestras, and classical composers have frequently used its quirky sound for comic relief. Even its name, bassoon, seems to evoke a lack of seriousness. But for the most part, buried in the orchestra is where the bassoon has stayed. But there have been some players who had tried to put the spotlight on the instrument. In the 1970s, there was an art rock band called Gryphon, which had a prominent bassoon in its instrumentation. And there have been jazz bassoonists, including Michael Rabinowitz, who recently released an album called Next Chapter.

Bassoonist Paul Hanson has played with symphony orchestras, but he has also collaborated with Bela Fleck, Jon Batiste and Billy Cobham. For his new album, Hanson goes all out as a lead instrument, with electrifying his bassoon and shredding like a heavy metal guitar, or layering it for a distinctive sound. And what makes his album more interesting is that the music, original compositions, are generally a high-energy, high-complexity mix of art rock and jazz-rock fusion. He collaborates with a group called Raze the Maze, consisting of vocalist Moorea Dickason and bassist Tarik Regab from the San Francisco area. Other players include guitarist Haroun Serang, keyboard players Eric Levy and Ruslan Sirota, and drummers Gene Coye, and Billy Cobham. The often frenetic pace of the music, with the complex phrases and quirky turns can be reminiscent of Frank Zappa. Ms. Dickason negotiates the twists and turns of the music, providing perhaps the most human element, though the music often moves so fast that it’s hard to make out the lyrics, which were written by the Raze the Maze’s bassist Tarik Ragab. They take up somewhat weighty subjects at times, and are miles from being love songs. This is not easy-listening music by any means, but it’s quite immersive if you give it your attention, and impressive in its virtuosity and creativity. While sometimes Hanson does guitar-type shredding on his amplified bassoon, the distinctive tone quality of the instrument often comes through. The bassoon is notoriously difficult to play in tune, with even the best players showing less than perfect intonation. Hanson is among the best, but even in his hands, especially in the high register, a bassoon is a bassoon.

Opening is a piece called When Is Enough? It leads off with some mutant bassoon, which is rather typical of the techniques Hanson uses with his instrument. <<>> Hanson does some bassoon shredding later in the tune. <<>>

Even more keyed up is a track called KDB (Kithairion Deluxe Band). It goes full-out art rock. <<>> Toward the end the track takes a turn toward the mellow with a chorus of bassoons. <<>>

A track called Seance takes an appropriately spooky direction, with Hanson’s sonically altered bassoons. <<>>

The title track Calliope is another impressive but mind-bogglingly complex tune with lots of different musical sharp turns. How Ms. Dickason holds it all together vocally is quite remarkable. <<>>

Though this is a band effort with the bassoon bring prominent, Hanson does include a very nice piece of just layered bassoons, called Quiet. The mix of textures he creates with his instrument is pretty astonishing. <<>>

The album’s longest track, called Doldrums Last Dance, is taken at a more relatively relaxed pace, showing a nice melodic quality, despite the twisty chord structure. The drummer is fusion legend Billy Cobham. <<>>

A composition called 69-20 alternates between a jazzy feeling and some metal-style electric bassoon shredding. <<>>

The album closes with Doorknocker one of its most frenetic, which adds a funky bass line to the mix of influences. <<>>

According to publicity material for this album, Paul Hanson as been envisioning a project like this since the 1980s, combining his bassoon with complex art rock and fusion influences, with vocals. The result is a truly distinctive album, with complex creative music, irrespective of that fact that it involves the bassoon. Add in the quirky instrument, sonically modified into keyboard-like textures, and metal-shredding solos on his bassoon, plus the impressively acrobatic vocals of Moorea Dickason of the Raze the Mase group, and the result is a one-of-a-kind album. It’s also interesting that each of the musicians recorded their parts separately in mostly their own respective studios in Oregon, the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas of California, and Billy Cobham recording his drums in Switzerland.

Our grade for sound quality is about a B-plus. With all the musicians recording at different times and places, it comes together remarkably well,. Especially given how fast and tricky some of the music is. But sometimes the sound is not as clean as it should be, not counting the altered sounds of the bassoon.

Paul Hanson and Raze the Maze’s new album Calliope is a fascinating, challenging and ultimately rewarding album for the adventurous music fan.

(c) Copyright 2025 George D. Graham. All rights reserved.
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<<>> indicates audio excerpt played in produced radio review

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