Label: Calligram Records, 2024

Personnel - Geof Bradfield: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, mbira; Greg Ward: alto saxophone; Anna Webber: tenor saxophone, flutes; Ben Goldberg: clarinet, contra alto clarinet; Derrick Gardner: trumpet; Russ Johnson: trumpet; Norman Palm: trombone; Momo Hasselbrink Seko: french horn; Scott Hesse: guitar; Clark Sommers: bass; Dana Hall: drums; Gregory Beyer: berimbau, mbira, marimba, percussion.

Chicago-based saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Geof Bradfield assembles a top-notch crew for his most ambitious album to date, Colossal Abundance. This project serves as a meditation on the complex interplay of wealth—material, intellectual, and spiritual—and the poverty that contrasts it in today’s world. Bradfield’s tenth album as a leader straddles contemporary jazz while drawing from a rich palette of influences, including African music, southern blues, Caribbean grooves, and more.

The journey opens with the folk exoticism of the traditional Shona mbira song “Mahororo”, a mbira-berimbau piece that reflects Bradfield’s curiosity for and connection with the Zimbabwean music. This world music vibe is soon transferred into John Coltrane’s classic “Lonnie’s Lament”, reimagined with a sextuple meter that shifts to cushion a soulful, Grant Green-like solo from guitarist Scott Hesse. Following him are Bradfield, whose tenor sax smolders with clear articulation, and altoist Greg Ward, whose joyfully volatile discourse finds compelling support from the percussive backdrop.

Another African-flavored number, “Tuku”— a dedication to the late Zimbabwean guitarist Oliver Mtukudzi—flows softly in 3/4 time with an irresistible, dance-like quality that feels dreamlike at times. Bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall provide vivid comfort for trumpeter Derrick Gardner’s melodic facility. Both “Kaleidoscope” and “Mrs. Parker of K.C.” delve into odd-meter; the former initially highlights the agile melodic patterns of flutist Anna Webber over a 5/4 tapestry woven by guitar and contra alto clarinet, while the latter, a Jaki Byard composition, features Hesse’s fluid bends, twists, and harmonic colors over a 14-beat bass cycle. Byard dedicated this piece to Charlie Parker’s mother, and Bradfield mirrors that intention with his own “Adelaide Bailey”, unfolding in seven with Ben Goldberg’s sinuously angular contra alto clarinet, joined by melodic horn fills and responsive drumming. Trumpeter Russ Johnson also delivers before the ensemble’s richness takes enter stage.

Following a vibrant post-bop rendition of Wayne Shorter’s “United”, the album closes with two extraordinary blues pieces: the contemplative “Gandanga Blues”, with its enchanting pulse and emotive solos from bass flute and muted trumpet, and Henry Threadgill’s “Bermuda Blues”, which offers a celebratory reggae-infused Caribbean groove. Colossal Abundance bears the marks of Bradfield’s openness, curiosity, and fearlessness, making it a tasteful opus certainly worth getting lost in.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Adelaide Bailey ► 04 - Tuku ► 09 - Gandanga Blues

Label: Delmark Records, 2018

Personnel – Geof Bradfield: tenor and soprano saxophone, bass clarinet; Greg Ward: alto saxophone; Anna Webber: flute, tenor saxophone; Russ Johnson: trumpet; Marquis Hill: trumpet; Joel Adams: trombone; Scott Hesse: guitar; Clark Sommers: bass; Dana Hall: drums and percussion.

Boasting an impeccable tonal control and range, saxophonist Geof Bradfield hires a sterling cast of musicians to give wings to his seventh album of originals, Yes, and…Music For Nine Improvisers. The album title was taken from an improvisational theater game implemented by Compass Players, a cabaret revue from the 50s. Combining genres and moods to create a broader sonic palette, the group works dynamically, whether in nonet or trio, following written material and free improvisation as convenient.

“Prelude” opens up the record with a strong rhythmic focus in a sturdy sax-bass-drums trio format, exposing fiery timbral explorations and edgy hooks while binding post-bop stamina and swinging passages. This tradition-modernity crossing is even stronger on “Impossible Charms”, a song containing voluptuous vibes, acute improvisations (Bradfield on tenor, trombonist Joel Adams, and trumpeter Marquis Hill) with swinging accompaniment, and a percussive folk finale covered in Non-Western garments.

The energy becomes refracted on “In Flux”, a time-shifting spectacle penned for the entire nonet that fluctuates with a pedal-like groove and fine chamber passages bridging improvisations. It features Hesse’s rapid runs and cascading ostinatos, saxophonist Greg Ward’s emotional yet electrifying phrasing over a dynamic rhythmic activity, and Russ Johnson's diaphanous melodicism within a storytelling containing fragments of swing.

Avoiding bumpy roads, “Chorale” and “Chaconne” are short horn-driven pieces for trio, designed with parallel and diagonal motions as well as polyphony.

“Anamneses”, whose title means recollections of the past, slightly crosses world music frontiers. The mystique comes from percussive rattles and cymbal introspection, in addition to a self-disciplined guitar and collective lines in unison. Elegant ebbs and flows arrive through flutist Anna Webber’s agile stretches, smoothly placed on top of idle fingerpicked guitar chords. Then we have the beseeching lines of Russ Johnson’s muted trumpet, which find a compelling rhythmic web composed of mallet drumming and breathable bass lines. Concluding the journey, Bradfield skillfully tours a delicate harmonic texture complemented with horn fills.

The celebratory jazz-fusion of “Forro Hermeto”, a tribute to the musical wizardry of Hermeto Pascoal, overflows with iridescent Brazilian rhythms and sparkling statements by the improvisers.

Bradfield stepped up his compositional efforts for this categorical work and the outcome is unpretentious, sumptuous, and gratifying to the core.