Every time I listen to Joe Lovano,
I’m thankful that he’s out there working. His performances and recordings are
consistently the most enjoyable in all of jazz, they are interesting in a musical way,
and of very high quality. Basically, they deliver. Folk Art is no exception.
In a feast for the ears, the Blue Note veteran and reedman extraordinaire here
pulls in a totally new band to record his first record comprised solely of
original material. As a guy who likes to interpret harmonies of Coltrane and
Coleman with the understanding that those guys were only interpreting
themselves, it’s nice to hear Lovano stretch out and, well, interpret Lovano. Of
course, the proceedings are hardly so simple, but that’s the direction. Right
from the outset, Lovano’s voice on the horn is typically sweeping, delicate and
reflective, although at times playful and mischievous. It’s a very deliberate
style, worked in concise lyrical phrases that spark with ingenuity and
curiosity. The compositions are a mixture of funky modern jazz
grooves, some with a quietly Latin feel. They oscillate between styles, touching on
soul jazz, blues, and the avant-garde. Plenty of room is given for the
band to stretch out and interact with each other. I
love the mood-changer “Song for Judi” with its ambling, pensive piano intro by
Weidman and sudden appearance of Lovano’s mysterioso tenor. Lost in the
beautiful melody, it surprises me every time I hear it. The track positively drips
with the influence of John Coltrane, as if he is hovering nearby in the
studio. I’ve noticed that in more than a
few of Lovano’s recordings, and I don’t think Lovano (or Coltrane) can
help the effect. Such channeling of one jazz spirit into another is the essence of harmony, and hearing it puts
goose bumps on my skin time after time. The band’s telepathic interplay and
remarkable chemistry is shown off in “Us Five,” a title which is actually the name of
the band. It allows relative newcomers like the brilliant bassist Esperanza
Spalding and drummers Otis Brown and Francisco Mela to move the melody as much
as Lovano does. Keeping with the loose theme suggested by the title, Lovano
enhances the sonic buffet by switching between straight alto, tenor, taragato,
autochrome, and alto clarinet numerous times. The textures swirl and influences
both past and present mingle in a jazz stew that respectfully embraces the laws
of the past, while pointing ever forward to new territory. Don't ever stop, Joe.
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