Magnetic (Blue Note)
Terence Blanchard
Released May 28, 2013
Top 10 NPR Jazz Albums 2013
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l48vrzYU_EBGudYhfKvYUeHchFlV2A5tw
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/7lKQFTVYJ30NpxHhYMIA98?si=vV5dnD0SQZyJMOLEekz-IQ
About:
“I’ve always believed that in life, what you keep in your mind is what you draw to yourself.” That’s how trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard explains the title of his 20th album, Magnetic, which finds a stunning variety of sounds and styles pulled together by the irresistible force of Blanchard’s vision.
That credo stems directly from Blanchard’s personal faith; raised in the Christian church, he has turned in recent years to Buddhism after meditating with Herbie Hancock while on the road with the legendary pianist. The idea of a spiritual magnetism “is a basic concept in any type of religion,” he says. “Both Christianity and Buddhism have forms of meditation – one’s called prayer and one’s called chanting. But it’s all about drawing on those things to help you attain enlightenment in your life at the same time that you’re trying to give back to the community.”
Magnetic gives expression to that belief through the combined voices of Blanchard’s always-scintillating quintet. Its latest incarnation brings together longtime members Brice Winston (saxophone) and Kendrick Scott (drums) with pianist Fabian Almazan, who made his debut with the group on its 2009 album Choices, and its newest member, 21-year-old bass prodigy Joshua Crumbly. In addition, they’re joined by a trio of remarkable special guests: master bassist Ron Carter, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, and guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke.
The vast array of approaches undertaken by that ensemble is striking, from the blistering bop of “Don’t Run” to the fragile ballad “Jacob’s Ladder;” the psychedelic electronic haze of “Hallucinations” to the urgent edginess of “Another Step.” As Blanchard says, “It’s a wide range of musical ideas that come together through the efforts of the guys in the band.”
Magnetic marks Blanchard’s return to Blue Note Records, which last released A Tale of God’s Will, his triumphant 2007 requiem for his home city, New Orleans, in the wake of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. That harrowingly emotional song cycle is just one of many large-scale projects Blanchard has undertaken in recent years. Since first writing music for Spike Lee’s 1990 jazz-set movie Mo’ Better Blues, Blanchard has become a renowned film composer with over 50 scores to his credit, most recently the WWII drama Red Tails for producer George Lucas.
This summer, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Jazz St. Louis will combine forces to premiere Blanchard’s first opera, Champion, an “Opera in Jazz” based on the story of the gay boxing champion Emile Griffith. This follows his recent score for Emily Mann’s Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire.
After the broad scope of such lofty undertakings, returning to a small group setting can be a challenge. “You get accustomed to having so many different colors at your disposal,” he says. “So I try to figure out a way to have as much diversity in everything that we play, the same expansive color palette as when you have an orchestra and voices.”
One way that Blanchard expands his palette on Magnetic is through the use of electronics, creating an overdriven, electric guitar-like sound for his horn during “Pet Step Sitter’s Theme Song” or brewing the mind-altering atmospherics of “Hallucinations.”
The latter tune, though titled by Blanchard’s 14-year-old daughter, also touches on the lifelong spiritual search evoked by the album-opening title track and “Central Focus,” which was originally recorded twenty years ago on Blanchard’s album Simply Stated. “When chanting for meditation,” he says, “you can have those moments of reflection that will bring new ideas to you. Some people may not call them hallucinations, but I think they’re all related in some fashion.”
Not every tune comes from such profound motives. The hard-bopping “Don’t Run” was written solely with the intention of allowing the band to joust with Ravi Coltrane’s soprano and Ron Carter’s mighty bass runs. The title was inspired by a taunt from Carter to Blanchard, asking only half-jokingly when the trumpeter would call on the legendary bassist’s services. “Stop running from me, man,” Blanchard recalls him saying, and when Carter speaks, you listen.
Coltrane’s contributions, which also include a taut, powerhouse turn on tenor for “Pet Step Sitter’s Theme Song,” came about simply because Blanchard was blown away by the saxophonist’s latest album, Spirit Fiction. “Ravi has developed a style and a sound that’s very unique,” Blanchard explains. “It’s an incredible feat given who his father was and what instrument his father played. But his being on my record has nothing to do with any of that; his being on my record is simply due to the fact that I love the way he plays.”
The same goes for Benin-born Lionel Loueke, who first came to prominence through Blanchard’s quintet before becoming widely renowned as one of the most innovative guitarists and vocalists in modern jazz. “He’s a very unique talent,” Blanchard says. “Lionel always brings a certain spirit and energy to any project that he’s a part of.”
Blanchard also readily sings the praises of his core group, which has been evolving over two years together to reach the deeply attuned point at which Magnetic finds them. “I’ve always appreciated the artistry of Brice and Kendrick,” he says of the band’s two veterans. “They’ve very seriously committed to developing their own unique styles of playing.”
Of newcomer Crumbly, he says, “Josh is a young guy who’s very talented and brings a lot to the group.” And of Almazan, he continues, “Fabian has been growing by leaps and bounds. His harmonic knowledge has taken the band in interesting directions and he colors things in ways that I think are very fresh and forward-thinking.”
So enamored is the bandleader of Almazan’s talents that he affords the pianist a solo spotlight, the captivating “Comet.” Almazan, Blanchard says, “plays with such grace and beauty. We did five or six takes and all of them were so beautiful that it was a hard to choose just one.”
Each member of the group provides their own contributions to the album: Crumbly, the lovely and delicate “Jacob’s Ladder;” Scott, the forceful, rhythmically intense “No Borders Just Horizons;” Winston the lithe and intricate “Time To Spare;” and Almazan an “emotional roller coaster” dedicated to his mother, “Pet Step Sitters Theme Song,” which is later reprised as “Another Step.”
“We had so much fun playing that tune that we just couldn’t leave it,” Blanchard explains. I thought it showed the diverse nature of the group, when you see the directions that it goes into, totally different from the first take.”
In his role as mentor to his younger bandmates, Blanchard takes the mantle from his own onetime mentor, Art Blakey. Stressing the importance for young musicians to compose as well as improvise, Blanchard recalls the legendary drummer’s advice: “Art Blakey told us that composition was the path to finding your own voice. If you improvise, you don’t sit down and reflect coldly on what it is you’re playing because you’re moving so quickly onto the next thing. Whereas when you compose, you have to sit down and really contemplate what each note means and how you get from one to the next. That in itself will create a style.” Terence Blanchard’s own style continues to evolve and expand in exciting and compelling fashion. Magnetic is sure to capture listeners with an attractive power nearly impossible to resist.
Track Listing:
1. Magnetic (Terence Blanchard) 07:02
2. Jacob’s Ladder (Joshua Crumbly) 07:59
3. Don’t Run (Terence Blanchard) 07:29
4. Pet Step Sitter’s Theme Song (Fabian Almazan) 10:31
5. Hallucinations (Terence Blanchard) 08:42
6. No Borders Just Horizons (Kendrick Scott) 07:21
7. Comet (Fabian Almazan) 04:53
8. Central Focus (Terence Blanchard) 04:31
9. Another Step (Terence Blanchard) 02:34
10. Time To Spare (Brice Winston) 06:56
Personnel:
Terence Blanchard: trumpet
Fabian Almazan: piano
Kendrick Scott: drums
Brice Winston: tenor saxophone (1, 2, 5, 6, 10)
Joshua Crumbly: bass (2, 4-6, 8-10)
Ron Carter: bass (1, 3)
Ravi Coltrane: soprano saxophone (3), tenor saxophone (4)
Lionel Loueke: guitar (4, 5, 9)
Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, NYProducer: Robin Burgess
Engineer: Frank Wolf
Mastering: Gavin Lurssen
Photographer: Nitin Vadukul
Art Direction: Hayden Miller
Review:
One of
today’s foremost jazz musicians and composers Terence Blanchard’s achievements
have soared since his formative days in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers to a
trajectory of successful bands, recordings and award winning film scores such
as 2007’s A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (Blue Note). He’s
still pursuing new challenges with the upcoming June 2013 premiere of his
first opera— entitled Champion, “An Opera In Jazz”— based
on the life of world champion boxer Emile Alphonse Griffith.
Blanchard’s ideas are still
thriving in his twentieth release and return to Blue Note with Magnetic—a
vibrant recording colored with the usual consummate performances, and a
modernist bent that’s replete with compelling themes. The ten compositions are
written by various band members consisting of drummer Kendrick Scott,
pianist Fabian Almazan, the unfaltering tenor saxophonist Brice
Winston and the addition of 21-year-old bass prodigy Joshua Crumbly.
This indicates another clue to Blanchard’s vibrancy: his unselfishness
mentoring and willingness to learn from younger musicians—one time acolytes and
now leaders—like drummer Eric Harland, pianist Edward Simon, and West
African guitarist Lionel Loueke who guests here on two tracks and
also performed on Blanchard’s previous Blue Note dates: Bounce (2003)
and Flow (2007). Blanchard gives his band members plenty of
opportunities to shine. Almazan’s “Pet Step Sitter’s Theme Song”
features a larger-than-life theme with Blanchard’s electronically processed
trumpet, virtuosic piano work, and Loueke’s usual finesse touches on guitar and
vocalizations. Crumbly’s elegant and stirring ballad “Jacob’s Ladder”
and Winston’s tightly wound swinger “Time To Spare” are memorable and
revealing of the artist’s multiple talents.
Magnetic’s theme rolls out
like some galactic metropolis—vast, complex and colored with futuristic techno
embellishments. Yet the music is always filled with Blanchard’s elongated lines
and emotional urgency as found in the opening title track and the moody
dreamscape in “Hallucinations.” Swing is also a constant element,
proven in “Don’t Run” as Ravi Coltrane’s soprano burns and Ron
Carter’s muscular bass walks true with bopping precision. Other vivid
moments are found in Scott’s brilliant “No Borders Just Horizons”
where the music moves with feverish intensity and Almazan’s superb
acoustic/electronic-enhanced solo track “Comet.”
These individual threads are
intricately woven together by Blanchard’s masterful leadership, musicianship,
and openness. It’s a fine return to Blue Note and another exceptional
release in Blanchard’s extensive and continuing discography.
Mark F. Turner (All About Jazz)
