14 years after releasing his self-titled debut as a leader,
bassist Gerald Cannon makes his long-overdue return with Combinations. Due out
July 14 on Cannon's own Woodneck Records, the album makes up for lost time by
mixing and matching a range of styles, moods and collaborators from across the
spectrum of Cannon's far-reaching career.
In Cannon's virtuosic hands, Combinations carries a multitude
of meanings. There's the obvious fact, first of all, that no two tracks on the
album feature the same line-up of musicians, juggling ten of the bassist's
closest collaborators in a variety of combinations. Then there's the diversity
of sounds represented by the compositions (almost half of which were penned by
Cannon himself): everything from simmering post-bop to boisterous funk, frantic
modern jazz to elegant ballads, gospel to bossa nova. Then, as legendary
bassist and Cannon's mentor Ron Carter points out in his liner notes, there's
the many hats that Cannon wears, making him a combination of bassist, composer,
arranger and producer.
"Not only did I want to do a record with a combination
of my favorite musicians," Cannon explains, "but I wanted to do a
record with a combination of different styles."
Cannon assembled the perfect line-up of musicians with which
to realize that goal. The pool of artists from which he drew for the session
includes saxophonists Gary Bartz, Sherman Irby and Steve Slagle, trumpeters
Jeremy Pelt and Duane Eubanks, pianists Kenny Barron and Rick Germanson,
guitarist Russell Malone and drummers Willie Jones III (who also co-produced
the album) and Will Calhoun. Together with Cannon they combine and recombine in
quintet, quartet, trio, duo and - in the bassist's memorable, heartfelt closing
rendition of "Darn That Dream" - solo configurations.
"Everybody on this record is an honest musician,"
Cannon says. "They play their personalities."
The same could be said for Cannon, who has played with an
impressive list of legendary musicians since arriving in New York City from his
native Wisconsin more than thirty years ago. That encyclopedic lists includes
his longtime tenure in the Roy Hargrove Group and the McCoy Tyner Trio, along
with stints with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, the Cedar Walton Trio, and bands
led by Elvin Jones, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Smith, Joe Lovano, Monty Alexander and
Stanley Turrentine, as well as playing with a host of legendary Cuban
musicians.
Combinations comes out of the gate robustly swinging, with a
tune by another early mentor, Slide Hampton. "Every Man is a King,"
which Cannon learned from a version by one of his bass heroes, Sam Jones,
features a bold quintet with Gary Bartz and Jeremy Pelt out front, anchored by
Cannon and his regular trio of Rick Germanson and Willie Jones III. That trio
gets to shine on the classic ballad "How My Heart Sings," revealing
fragility reminiscent of the classic Bill Evans Trio. Cannon's own ballad
"A Thought" is highlighted by the sensitive touch of Kenny Barron,
which sounds gorgeous in conversation with Sherman Irby's lithe alto.
Steve Slagle makes the most of his sole appearance with an
unaccompanied intro to Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," which is
immediately contrasted by the frantic rhythms of Cannon's ode to his
usually-packed home subway station, "Columbus Circle Stop." Cannon
fell in love with authentic bossa nova while touring Brazil, and offers his own
version in dedication to his late mother, "Amanda's Bossa." Sam
Jones' influence returns with his composition "One for Amos," a
feature for Cannon's thick, woody tone, while Bartz is the subject of the
tribute "Gary's Tune." Also featuring Living Colour drummer Will
Calhoun, with whom Cannon plays in a band honoring his former boss Elvin Jones,
the tune is built on a soulful groove that Cannon wrote while reminiscing about
his teenage years playing R&B in his parents' basement.
"Gary is a good friend and big brother," Cannon
says. "The melody that I wrote for that tune had to do with a lot of
things I hear him play with McCoy Tyner. Gary's a groovy cat, so soulful and
complex at the same time. He's the consummate musician, and I like the fact
that he's very true to his feelings about life and the world."
Growing up in the church, Cannon says that it was a rare
Sunday that he wasn't either playing or hearing "How Great Thou Art."
He recorded this captivating duo version with Russell Malone in honor of his
later father, who led his own gospel group during Cannon's childhood. The title
tune returns to a blistering quintet format, this time pairing Duane Eubanks
with Bartz on the frontline.
That's a lot of combinations, but Cannon can add one more to
his resumé: he is renowned as both a jazz bassist and a visual artist. Though
he's long kept the two pursuits separate, not wanting to be thought of as a
musician who dabbles in painting on the side, he's recently allowed his dual
passions to cross paths more often. One of his colorful abstracts graces the
inner sleeve of Combinations (alongside one by his gifted son, Gerald Cannon
II), and he's begun to recognize how much influence each of the arts has on the
other.
"Painting is like a bass solo," he says. "You
start at one spot but you don't really know where it's going to end up. All you
know is, on a canvas or on a chart, you've got four corners to finish it and at
some point you've got to say who you are or what your emotions are at that
particular time."
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