From the opening notes of Tom Harrell’s latest High Note
release Number Five you are catapulted into a break neck duet between
the smooth as silk trumpeter and his equally cacophonous drummer Johnathan
Blake. “Dizzy Gillespie’s “ Blues N’
Boogie” roars out of the gates of this fine album with a confident swagger and
deliberate bravado. The tight interplay belies precision with just the right
amount of extemporaneous spontaneity.
Harrell’s beautiful “Right As Rain” takes a distinctively
more gentle approach to win you over. On
this sensitive ballad, the front line of Harrell on trumpet and Wayne Escoffery
on tenor play a sleepily descending line, creating the aural effect of
cascading water over smoothened river rocks. Escoffery’s tone is warm and
compliments Harrell’s equally burnished sound. Blake’s cymbal work is subtly
effective.
The title track is Harrell’s “No. 5”, a straight ahead swinger, is the first
tune to feature the full quintet. Harrell’s lead is both harmonically rich and
tonally resplendent. Escoffery offers a flowing and fiery tenor solo that is as
hot and unstoppable as liquid lava in motion. The song also features nice solos
by pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and a stirring trap solo by
Blake.
Perhaps the most beautiful piece on the album is Harrell’s
“Journey to the Stars”, it is a
simple repeating piano motif played lovingly by Grissett over which Harrell plays
some gorgeous Flugelhorn explorations. The sparse treatment is extremely
effective in creating poignancy, carrying you away to the stars of Harrell’s
musical mind.. Harrell overdubs a series of muted trumpet accompaniments that
project a sense of majesty to the journey. Grissett offers an emotionally
stirring solo demonstrating a tender touch.
It becomes obvious that Harrell’s approach to music is all
encompassing with many unexpected twists and turns that keep you always on your
feet. From the peaceful galactic travel of “Journey to the Stars” we step right
into a free piece titled “GT”, the longest piece of the album at almost nine
minutes. Escoffery’s tenor solo is the highlight with a blistering torrent of
notes pouring from his horn in an uninterrupted flow of consciousness. Some nice
spatial playing by Okegwo and Blake finish this barely structured piece.
Harrell is quite cognizant of the palette of colors he has
available to him when creating his music. Here on his penetrating ballad “Present”
he utilizes the warm tones of his Flugelhorn mixing nicely with Grissett’s
distinctively tinkling Fender Rhodes sound and Blake’s wet cymbal work to
create his images. The tight implicit interactions of this ensemble are the fruits
of many hours of these musicians working closely together, clearly with
Harrell’s vision in mind, creating one of the most exciting and inventive
ensembles in jazz today. As a friend of Mr. Harrell’s on Facebook I have seen he
often posts pictures of his group as it tours the world. The obvious
camaraderie that shows so well in his pictures is equally apparent in his
music. This group genuinely enjoys playing together.
Daringly, Harrell interspersed this album with multiple instrument
line ups. He offers duets between drums and trumpet or piano and trumpet, the
trio format as well as the full quintet with the only unifying factor being
Harrell’s ubiquitous presence.
On “Star Eyes” Harrell goes it totally solo. With a lead in from "Night in Tunisa" there is no
lack of creativity flowing from this man’s horn as he negotiates the changes in
his own unique way. His sense of time is exquisite, but it is his supreme sense
of lyricism that is most impressive. “Star Eyes” is a standout solo performance
of unfettered spontaneity and a lesson in how expressive unaccompanied trumpet can be.
The album finishes off with “Preludium” a study in how to
change a six bar practice arrangement from Vincent Persichetti’s book on “Harmony,
Creative Aspects and Practice’ into a thoughtful exploratory piece of music.
Harrell’s haunting trumpet sound on “The Question” opens
this probing piece of music. Grissett again marvels with his deft use of the
Fender Rhodes, someone who is growing exponentially. Escoffery’s tone is exceptionally warm and full.
“Melody in B Flat” is a hard swinging ensemble piece that once
again features the entire quintet.
Johnathan Blake’s pulsing trap work drives this train, with Escoffery
again playing some inspired tenor.
The album closes out almost introspectively with Harrell’s
solo, sotto voce version of Tadd Dameron’s
“ A Bluetime”. Enough said.
Make no mistake, despite some fine individual performances
on the album, it is the leader Tom Harrell’s vision that makes NumberFive such a top notch offering. The precise ensemble playing, his fine
compositions, deft arrangements and his own imaginative playing, along with his
ability to preserve spontaneity makes this one a must have for any serious jazz
lover.
Here is a videos of the Tom Harrell Qunitet and their wonderful music.
Like Paul Newman in the Color of Money, you're "back".
ReplyDeleteWondered if you meant "alone" as in the only horn accompanied by a rhythm section or the only horn--period. I see now that the latter is the case. A daring decision, and a challenge to the listener to hear the changes along with the soloist. I was going to question you about the bebop opening--I thought it was Bird's. But after getting the solo horn thing right, you've earned my trust. So Diz wrote it. (He also wrote that extended coda-- unfortunately usually omitted these days--to "Round Midnight."
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