Label: AUM Fidelity, 2024
Personnel - Darius Jones: alto saxophone; Chris Lightcap: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.
Darius Jones, a visionary saxophonist and composer with a sharp, angular approach and pungent tone, ranks among the best in contemporary improvised music. His latest trio album, Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye), marks the seventh chapter in his comprehensive Man’ish Boy series, which began in 2009 and will eventually encompass nine parts. This album delves into themes of Black mental health and healing of personal and collective trauma through therapy, community, and creative expression. Jones is accompanied by bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Gerald Cleaver—both masters of groove and technique—who help channel the volcanic energy and tempered explorations Jones uses to convey his message.
The album opens with “Affirmation Needed”, where Jones delivers an emphatic, dynamically accented, and often motif-driven performance, erupting over a solid rhythmic foundation that provides grounding. Following a bass solo by Lightcap, delivered with impeccable articulation, Jones returns, probing the depths of his horn with incisive, expressive sounds. “Another Kind of Forever" begins with a joint effort by sax and bass, posing repeated musical questions, to which Cleaver’s drums respond with precision and creativity. The piece then picks up momentum, reminiscent of a train speeding along, before arriving at a ternary vamp, with a signature saxophone riff dancing above. The rhythmic idea persists, developing into a state of manic agitation.
“No More My Lord”, the only non-original piece on the album, is a poignant recreation of a prison song recorded by Alan Lomax at Parchman Farm, Mississippi, in 1947. Jones' saxophone cries out with seismic intensity, pleading for freedom and healing, set against Lightcap’s slashing arco bass and Cleaver’s magnetic cymbal configurations. “We Outside” is loosened up with considerable ambiguity even when anchored by a steady 12-beat bass groove. In contrast, “We Inside Now” offers a more restrained, harmonious ballad where Jones blows his horn with a controlled, comfortable assurance.
The album concludes with “Motherfuckin Roosevelt”, a track where shifting tempos and moods provide a sense of elasticity. At the outset, we can feel a rock n’roll spirit, something raw and primitive that expands in its will to take us to different and better places. The musicians throw themselves into the music with an unrelenting passion. Their fascinating playing is intriguing, raw, and lush. Legend of e’Boi is a keeper.
Favorite Track:
01 - Affirmation Needed ► 02 - Another Kind of Forever ► 03 - No More My Lord