In recent years, a well-done tribute album has almost become
its own form of release. But to truly pay proper homage to its subject, it must
only be a point of departure. The ultimate purpose must be to create an
entirely new musical journey that only looks back to move forward. Composer and
saxophonist Rob Reddy's stunning new album Bechet: Our Contemporary does
exactly that - and a good deal more. Intertwining Sidney Bechet's music with
original works inspired by him, Reddy has not simply updated the legendary
icon's image, but presents him as the truly avant-garde and innovative giant
that he still is today.
"I see this project as an honest and respectful attempt
at honoring Bechet's place in history as a seriously forward-thinking,
avant-garde artist of his time, while also putting his work into conversation
with our own present-day sociopolitical landscape," comments Reddy.
The fact that Rob Reddy is also a soprano saxophonist must
only be viewed as coincidental here.
Every player of that instrument owes an inspirational debt to its
father; and Reddy's full-bodied, vibrant and sinuously impassioned sound
certainly amplifies the context of this music. Since his emergence on the scene
in the late 1980s, he has virtually always been a leader and conceptualist, and
for the past 20 years has been a visionary, heavily acclaimed and an often
commissioned composer for a wide variety of ensembles ranging from five to
nineteen musicians.
On Bechet: Our Contemporary, Reddy has assembled some of New
York's most outstanding contemporary musicians to join him in this brilliant
ensemble. In the classic traditions of
Ellington, Mingus, George Russell and Gil Evans, Reddy's composing is dialed directly
into the distinctive sounds of his musicians; most of whom have been frequent
participants in his music, some for over 20 years. John Carlson on trumpet and
Curtis Fowlkes on trombone join Reddy on the horn line, violinist Charlie
Burnham, cellist Marika Hughes, guitarist Marvin Sewell, and Rob's longtime
bass/drums collaborators Dom Richards and Pheeroan akLaff round out this
sterling group. Despite Reddy sharing
Bechet's primary focus upon the same instrument, this is not a showcase for his
soprano playing, but rather his profound vision.
The depth and scope of the compositions and arrangements
require an intense focus, an urgency and unfettered creativity, and a release
of the inner spirit in both virtuosity and abandon to spawn the synergy required
to bring this music to its highest level. The challenging discipline of freedom
is fully realized, keeping the music spontaneous and visceral, but totally
within the intent of the Reddy's vision.
The result is music that meets the seemingly contradictory goals of
being powerfully earthy, yet utterly transcendent. The exhilaration, joy, wit,
beauty and sheer fun of Sidney Bechet are in radiant presence, translated and
re-imagined by Reddy.
"The idea was to approach Bechet as a composer and
intertwine his original compositions with those of my own, making a narrative
between the two that made sense; and have my musicians play and improvise on
his compositions just as I ask them to do with my own, seeking the same
openness, energy, commitment and wisdom," explains Reddy.
The delightful repertoire includes four Bechet pieces and
four Reddy originals. Vividly reflecting that purest sense of tribute to
produce inspirations, it is challenging to differentiate Bechet's from Reddy's
compositions as Reddy has made Bechet's so much his own; and Bechet's
inspiration such a fundamental component of his own writing. It would be highly
inappropriate to overlook the compelling lyricism and exquisite beauty of
Bechet's music for the sake of modernism, but it would be equally invalid to
underplay the groundbreaking adventurousness and depth of sophistication that
Bechet brought to the music. With that in mind, some of the most "down
home" moments are in Reddy's originals and some of the most unabashedly
contemporary are on Bechet works.
"Song of the Medina" epitomizes Reddy's brilliant
compositional approach and his choice of the jazz idiom as his primary means of
expression. While his vernacular is rooted in the full scope of American folk
forms- including blues, gospel, country, marches, and the full scope of the
jazz legacy - the jazz form provides the ideal canvas for his painting.
Trusting his musicians to contribute freely to the context without losing track
of the story he's telling incorporates the improvisations into the composition,
giving it new life with each time you listen. This extended work anchors the
album with its expansive sonic landscape reminiscent of the Art Ensemble of
Chicago's finest creations.
Bechet's signature piece, "Petite Fleur" is
evocatively atmospheric, with the beautiful melody stated by violin colored by
the soprano and buoyed on a swirling undertow of colors and shapes. Reddy's
"Erasing Statues" features drawling horns in a slow drag procession -
almost funereal, but joyously hymnal. Gospel of another sort is the mode for
Bechet's "Chant in the Night,"with guest artist Lisa Parrott's
baritone sax clearing the church entrance for an exuberant, rapturous prayer
meeting excursion of Mingus-like jubilation. In mesmerizing fashion, Reddy's
"Yank"weaves between abstract rubato ruminations and alluring, richly
lyrical orchestration.
Reddy's "Speedy Joe"is a brief, nicely textured
aperitif that leads into the album's concluding piece, Bechet's "Broken
Windmill" - a perfect complement to Reddy's "Up-South,"which
opens this stunning album. A boisterous, celebratory piece with so much going
on underneath, it aptly demonstrates the powerful influence that early New
Orleans music had upon the collective approach of the avant-garde and foretells
how the album will do proper justice to the spirit of Bechet. "Broken
Windmill"(with Oscar Noriega's clarinet adding the extra spice)mirrors
that piece in bouncing, effervescent early jazz vigor, bringing everything full
circle to its source.
This is Reddy's seventh album-his third for his own Reddy
Music label that he founded in 2006-and the first time that he has ever
incorporated another composer's work into his music, but it's eminently clear
that this extraordinary music is his own as well as another major step in the
legacy of one of today's most important composers.
Rob Reddy · Bechet: Our Contemporary
Reddy Music · Release Date: September 11, 2015
