Label: Whaling City Sound, 2022
Personnel - Eric Wyatt: tenor saxophone; Theo Crocker: trumpet; Chris Lowery: trumpet; Clifton Anderson: trombone; Samara Joy: voice/vocals; Donald Vega: piano; Eric Wheeler: bass; Mike Boone: bass; Mekhi Boone: drums; Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts: drums; Khalil Kwame Bell: percussion.
Saxophonist and composer Eric Wyatt is a Brooklyn native who happens to be the godson of the legendary Sonny Rollins. That fact naturally brings the jazz giant’s influence into his music, but doesn’t affect the merit of his sound and compositions. His recently released recording, A Song of Hope, is a mesmerizing, stylistically expanded follow-up to the previous The Golden Rule: For Sonny (WCS, 2019).
Wyatt penned his adventurous originals with the excellent drummer Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts in mind, who joins him in two duets and partners with bassist Eric Wheeler and pianist Donald Vega in the rhythm section. In the frontline, he welcomes trumpeters Theo Crocker and Chris Lowery for selected cuts. The group, varying in size, also features the prominent vocalist Samara Joy on Sting’s “Fragile”, here beautifully rendered in an unforced 4/4 rhythm, and “Say Her Name”, a lament for Breonna Taylor. The work of percussionist Khalil Kwame Bell is in evidence on the former piece and on the infectious, Latin-tinged “Sunset Park Bonita”, as well as on Lowery’s “Fur Live”, a cruising, riff-permeated crossover number that articulates soul jazz and Latin rhythms.
The title cut and opener, “A Song of Hope”, is a medium-fast 3/4 post-bop delight that, channeling Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane all at once, radiates an incredible sound, energy, and optimism. Wyatt and Vega alternate bars after making our heads spin with individual solos. Equally waltzing with a churning rhythm, “Chance” doesn’t carry the force and vitality of the lilting “One 4 Hakim”, a celebratory post-bop inflection. At an early improvisational stage, it is Vega who stands out with oblique runs and fine rhythmic ideas, but then we have the bandleader blowing vigorously over the sole rhythmic support of Watt’s drums.
The energetic “Blues for RH”, a dedication to the late trumpeter Roy Hargrove, thrives with Crocker’s focused trumpet paired up with the saxophone on the theme, segueing into soulful solos by all members of the quintet. Adding a special vibe to the traditional jazz lineage, Wyatt shows his love for the music of Coltrane and McCoy Tyner by tackling their “Central Park West” and “Contemplation”, respectively. The latter propulsive number, set in motion with an irresistible hard driving tempo, provides plenty of explosive power. Both these tunes exceptionally present bassist Mike Boone, well locked in with his 14-year-old drummer son, Mekhi.
Highly recommended for both traditional and modern jazz appreciators, this album sounds tremendously confident and passionate, giving a good glimpse of Wyatt’s abilities as a composer and soloist.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - A Song of Hope ► 06 - One 4 Hakim ► 11 - Contemplation