Trumpet
player Theo Croker's new album, Escape Velocity, arrives unchecked and
un-filtered. It doesn't attempt to fit a single specific musical category, but
draws upon the first principle of jazz: to merge and interpret history, styles
and ideas and create a unique sound. Escape Velocity (DDB Records/OKeh), due
May 6th, and featuring his band DVRK FUNK, is Croker's second album since
returning from China where he lived and worked for nearly a decade.
DVRK FUNK
includes Anthony Ware on tenor saxophone and flute, pianist Michael King,
guitarist Ben Eunson, bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Kassa Overall. Of the
group's name Croker explains: "Darkness has been labeled as a negative
thing but the outer reaches of space are dark. Where life starts is dark. Dark
is an endless possibility, infinite and unknown. That's what we're about."
It is clear
from the opening notes of songs like "Raise Your Vibrations" that
this is Croker's world. The glistening glow of keyboards and cymbals float
around him as he establishes the band's intentions from mission control.
"It's a summons for the listeners to open up their minds and to let them
vibrate for the rest of the album."
Songs on the
album range from spiritual to upbeat, and are sometimes invested with a
commitment to with current events. For example: "We Can't Breathe,"
Croker observes, "That's about Eric Garner. That's about Trayvon. That's
about reflecting everything that is going on in the world, but 'It's Gonna Be
Alright' is the response to that. No matter what we deal with, remember it's
going to be alright." An anthem of succinct horn lines and joyous vocals,
Croker's message carries notes of both optimism and melancholy.
"A Call
to the Ancestors" and "Meditations" are the results of communing
with the spirits. "A lot of people assume that meditation is very calm, a
quiet very clear thing," says Croker. "But it can also have a lot of
turbulence. When I get to a good point in meditation, I feel like I am
traversing through dimensions." Michael King takes advantage of his
opportunity to stride across the piano, digging up a rapid sprint over the
pounding percussion.
"Love
From The Sun" is an homage to and a collaboration with Dee Dee
Bridgewater. The renowned jazz diva, who has served as a mentor to Croker for
nearly a decade, revisits a song which she first recorded in 1974. Here Croker
overlays a live recording he performed with Bridgewater with a new studio performance
from the inimitable vocalist.
The
organ-driven pop of "Changes" is loaded with rhythmic energy and
cosmic textures, a swelling culmination for a telekinetic band. Marching off in
style, DVRK FUNK settles down with "RaHspect (Amen)," a tempered farewell
that pairs Croker with King's responsive piano.
"We're
always pushing our music as far as we can push it," Croker says of the
album. "We're not changing the game, we are creating a new version of the
game that hopefully is all our own."
For anyone
looking to learn the rules, put your headphones on.
Theo Croker
is a trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and bandleader whose powerful and eclectic
take on modern jazz pays respect to the tradition of the music while moving the
genre forward.
A native of
Leesburg, Florida, Croker is the grandson of the late great jazz trumpeter Doc
Cheatham. Croker began playing trumpet at age 11 after hearing Cheatham play in
New York City, and by his teens was studying music formally at the Douglas
Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville followed by the Music Conservatory at
Oberlin College.
Croker's
musical training has taken him all over the world including Shanghai, China
where he took up residency at the House of Blues and refined his style.
Shanghai is also where Croker met his mentor, Dee Dee Bridgewater, whom he performs
with often.
Escape
Velocity is Croker's second album with OKeh Records. His debut, AfroPhysicist,
was released in 2014.
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