Label: Sunnyside Records, 2024
Personnel - Harry Skoler: clarinet; Joel Ross: vibraphone; Dezron Douglas: bass; Johnathan Blake: drums // Guests - Christian Sands: piano (#6); Marquis Hill: trumpet (#4); Grégoire Maret: harmonica (#13).
Clarinetist and composer Harry Skoler enlists the help of stellar musicians to enrich a set of 14 compositions that tells the sad, traumatic story of the loss of a friend in his teenage years. The core quartet comprises Skoler, vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Dezron Douglas, and drummer Johnathan Blake. The album, Red Brick Hill, is infused with curiosity and invention, often surprising with an optimum balance between discipline and freedom.
Solo clarinet opens the proceedings, leading to the polyrhythmic “NanCee”, which is followed by “Ascent”, a sketchy, freely improvised duet between Skoler and Douglas. “Blue, Mostly” is a groovy vehicle where Skoler and guest trumpeter Marquis Hill pair up in unison and then exchange bars over a colorful vibing tapestry. “Apple Hands” is driven forth by a 5/4 bass figure that succeeds to a preliminary 3/4 undercurrent powered by vibraphone and drums, freeing Skoler to create melodically atop. “Beneath Bequeath” is a standout, building a free-flowing avant-garde bluesiness around a catchy riff. Somehow, the group’s sound here brought to my minds Don Byron’s 1999 album Romance with the Unseen.
The central piece of the album is the gorgeous ballad “Last Star, Last Night”, where Skoler and guest pianist Christian Sands express what’s in their souls through candid improvisation. The title cut, “Red Brick Hill”, explores a 5/4 groove for five minutes before shifting into rubato meditations, ideal for Douglas and Ross’ lyrical stimulus. The group concludes it calmly after a different bass groove in five is put in motion. In turn, “Still. Here” features the proficient harmonica playing of Swiss-born Grégoire Maret, who enjoys Skoler’s clear-cut lines on his side to achieve a sweet state of grace.
Well adapted to the current jazz zeitgeist, Skoler narrates his story earnestly for a therapeutic effect while providing a captivating listening experience for audiences.
Favorite Tracks:
04 - Blue, Mostly ► 06 - Last Star, Last Night ► 08 - Beneath Bequeath