Mack Avenue SuperBand's Live From The Detroit Jazz Festival - 2013
documents a concert at the Motor City's capacious Hart Plaza by an
ensemble of leaders culled from Mack Avenue Records' extraordinary
artist roster. It's the second configuration of the group, which debuted
at the 2012 Detroit Jazz Festival, mixing veteran stars with mid-career
leaders and up-and-comers. The resulting album, Live From The Detroit Jazz Festival - 2012, received critical kudos for the fiery chemistry and soloistic derring-do contained therein.
Back for round two are trumpeter Sean Jones, guitarist Evan Perri, and the rhythm section of pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist (and music director) Rodney Whitaker and drummer Carl Allen, plus Gary Burton returns as a special guest. Joining the mix are veteran soul/jazz saxophone giant Kirk Whalum and the sensational vibraphonist-marimbist Warren Wolf.
The results are scintillating-a program as cohesive and precise as a
studio recording, but infused with energetic vibrations emanating from
the several thousand hip, enthusiastic fans who attended the concert.
Whitaker attributes the
simpatico in part to his process of following collective, inclusive
principles in organizing the program. "I solicited everyone's input," he
says. "With artists at this level, you don't need to dictate every
moment. Sometimes it's more important to listen and facilitate. When you
have a conversation with everyone about what music we're playing and
the direction we want to go, everybody buys in."
Whitaker discerns several
common denominators that promoted camaraderie. One is the role of gospel
music in the musical development of Whalum, Jones, Wolf, Diehl, Allen
and himself during formative years. "Everyone-not just those who grew up
in church-tries to tell a story in the way they play, in the way they
try to touch an audience and say something to them," he says. "They put
together their solos to get across a message that music is not just
about notes, but has some greater meaning, whatever you may translate
that to mean."
That communicative quality
permeates the proceedings. So does the high level of mutual respect of
each member for the musical abilities of all the others. "Everyone liked
performing together," Whitaker says. "You could feel it in the
rehearsals. Everyone felt empowered. There was no hierarchy, no one
playing the star. In 2012, the idea was more to have a showcase for
everyone's skill, and have people come on and off the bandstand. This
year, Al and Denny wanted a more cohesive sound, and that's how all the
musicians felt, too."
"Soul Sister," featuring
vibraphonist/composer Warren Wolf, kicks off the set in fine fashion.
The mid-tempo modal piece finds the composer elegantly stating the
melody on his signature vibraphone then passing off to the marimba for a
sure-footed and hard-swinging solo, opening the door for rhapsodic
solos by label mates Whalum, Jones, Perri and Diehl.
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Photo Credit: Cybelle Codish
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Sean Jones, 35, is celebrating his tenth anniversary on Mack Avenue with his new release, im.pro.vise,
later this summer. He uncorks a sensitive flugelhorn solo on his
never-before-recorded "Of Mars and Venus," followed by Whalum's flute
solo. There follows a stirring rendition of Donnie McClurkin's "Speak To
My Heart" (reprised from Work To Do, the Allen-Whitaker group's second
Mack Avenue date), on which Jones, Wolf and Whalum raise a joyful
noise.
The horns and guitar leave the stage for Aaron Diehl's "Blue Nude" (from the 28-year-old pianist's Mack Avenue debut, The Bespoke Man's Narrative),
which opens with a mysterious, sensuous section that resolves into a
minor blues theme-think John Lewis meets Sonny Clark-on which Wolf and
the pianist stretch out.
Gary Burton's pair of Mack Avenue dates with The New Gary Burton Quartet (Common Ground, 2011 and Guided Tour,
2013) is as strong as anything in the iconic mallet player's
distinguished discography. He and Jones rejoin the quartet for "Chick's
Tune," an early Chick Corea opus (it blends "You Stepped Out Of A Dream"
and "Nostalgia") that debuted on a 1964 Blue Mitchell LP titled The Thing To Do. Each soloist displays his command of swinging change-playing over the relentless groove.
There follows a duo tour de
force by Burton (vibes) and Wolf (marimba) on Wolf's arrangement of
Corea's "Señor Mouse," which Burton first played with the composer in
1972 on the ECM classic Crystal Silence, and which Wolf recorded for his self-titled 2011 Mack Avenue debut.
Burton exits and Whalum
enters as the band takes on Allen's "Relativity," a modernist soul jazz
tune with a feel not unlike Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments." Jones
builds his clarion solo on principles of tension-and-release; Whalum
flows through the changes with mellow, powerful tone; Wolf navigates the
beats with a drummer's precision.
Diehl's Ellingtonian chords
introduce gypsy jazz innovator Django Reinhardt's late-period piece
"Troublant Bolero," on which Perri showcases his abundant chops, as he
does with the Django/Stephane Grappelli-inspired Hot Club of Detroit,
who have released four albums on Mack Avenue.
Kirk Whalum and the septet
then address the modern gospel song, "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me,"
which Whalum previously recorded on his 2001 album, Hymns In The Garden.
In the classic soul tenor manner that he learned from mentor Arnett
Cobb as a student in Houston, Texas, Whalum offers inflamed testimony,
followed by a marimba solo by Wolf that sustains and intensifies the
energy.
Spurred by Allen's crisp,
rounded beats, each member takes an idiomatic, white-hot chorus on the
concert closer, Dizzy Gillespie's bebop era anthem, "Two Bass Hit," with
Burton on vibes and Wolf on marimba.
When it's done, you the
listener may well feel inspired to follow the example of the packed Hart
Plaza and deliver your own standing ovation.
