For a follow-up to his superb sophomore release Wolfgang, rising star vibraphonist/composer Warren Wolf finds himself alongside some of the biggest names in modern jazz for Convergence, his stellar third outing on Mack Avenue Records. Along with bassist Christian McBride, the all-world rhythm section is rounded out by master drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts and esteemed pianist Brad Mehldau. Renowned guitarist John Scofield is a featured soloist on two tracks.
After
having the vibraphonist in his acclaimed Inside Straight quintet since
2007, longtime label-mate and mentor McBride produced the album and
brought the band together to see how far Wolf could go. "It was a
particular pleasure to bring Warren together with John Scofield and Brad
Mehldau--two musicians he'd never worked with before," explains
McBride. "Warren's A-level musicianship clearly moves him into an
echelon that musicians like Sco and Brad represent. I think the results
were inspirational for all of the musicians involved."
Together,
they spur each other on to some dazzling heights on six Wolf originals
and five well-chosen covers, running the gamut from funky soul-jazz to
post-bop burners, intimate ballads and even a touch of classical. Convergence
features some of Wolf's most accomplished writing and dynamic playing
to date, and his all-star sidemen rise to the occasion with some heat of
their own from track to track. "What we wanted to do on this record is
mix it up and not just have the whole band on every single track," he
explains-the album features everything from solo to quintet recordings,
utilizing various configurations of this stellar lineup.
Since
graduating from Berklee, Wolf has taken the jazz world by storm, first
as a sideman in Christian McBride's Inside Straight quintet, then with
his self-titled Mack Avenue debut in 2011 and Wolfgang in 2013.
Now the vibraphonist-composer and multi-instrumentalist takes things up
another notch on his excellent all-star outing, Convergence.
