Label: Tao Forms, 2021
Personnel - James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone; Kirk Knuffke: cornet; Christopher Hoffman: cello; William Parker: bass, gimbri; Chad Taylor: drums.
The tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is a conceptualist and a storyteller who takes his music very seriously. Although his records are very different from one another, his voice remains recognizable, in a process that deftly combines emotion and fleet, ferocious technique. His new album, Jesup Wagon, features him with an all-star group of creatives - Red Lily Quintet - with whom he draws up a range of perspectives to sonically portray the life, work and vision of Dr. George Washington Carver, an American agricultural scientist and inventor.
Music-wise, this body of work arrives as a flirtation between folk and avant-garde jazz, and the title cut opens the curtain with that Southern folk intonation and New Orleans-style marching strut that runs on oiled wheels. Lewis’ powerful tone and translucent expression create a wonderful solo intro as well as an invigorating statement where penetrating lower notes briefly pin rhythmic figures that dance unabashedly.
“Lowlands of Sorrow” teems with a triple meter, a chanting groove generated by William Parker’s exotic gimbri and Christopher Hoffman’s rigorous cello plucks, a caravan-like pace, and striking solos and interplay between Lewis and cornetist Kirk Knuffke. This is often filled with spiritual strength and Coltranean craftiness.
The band navigates the mournful, sometimes agonizing dirge, “Arachis” (an elegy to peanut), with deep sentiment, and a tight-knit coalition between arco bass and cello is in plain sight. Once departed from this heavy theme, Lewis, solidly supported by bass and drums, exteriorizes downright revolutionary avant-garde forays, and is later joined by Knuffke, who proceeds with autonomy without ever turning his back on tastefulness.
The terrifically melodic “Fallen Flowers” and the kinetically polyrhythmic “Experiment Station” are both outstanding. The former progresses with an asymmetric A section (7+6+7+8) and an ostinato-laden B section shaped with a sextuple meter before ending with Lewis’ engaging spoken word, a meditation on life and death. The latter piece, ending more subdued than it started, showcases the immense rhythmic abilities of drummer Chad Taylor as well as authoritative statements from sax and cornet.
Both coupling dancing quality and emotional heft, “Seer” is enriched with the African-tinged tides of Taylor’s mbira, while “Chemurgy” features the sounds of gimbri, vocal chants and a rich sax/cornet dialogue.
Obeying his musical instincts with frankness, inspiration and resolve, Lewis weaves a common lyric thread to all tunes that is indispensable for the unification of the whole. This knockout album is a must-listen.
Grade A+
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Lowlands of Sorrow ► 05 - Experiment Station ► 07 - Chemurgy