Fasten Up (Mack Avenue)
Yellowjackets
Released February 21, 2025
Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Instrumental Album 2026
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mXEbNUzOjNWf1nyOEtOgGouni8wxI-EEA
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About:
With their 28th studio album, the GRAMMYr Award-winning, jazz-pioneering Yellowjackets return to redefine jazz fusion once again. Known for their genre-blending sound and impeccable musicianship, Russell Ferrante, Bob Mintzer, Dane Alderson, and Will Kennedy deliver a fresh yet timeless listening experience that’s as adventurous as ever. Fasten Up bursts with the Yellowjackets’ signature energy, featuring 11 tracks, including 10 originals and a lively cover of Ben Tucker’s “Comin’ Home Baby,” with the standout original “The Lion” showcasing the talents of Raul Midon.
Track Listing:
1. Comin’ Home Baby (Ben Tucker, Robert L Dorough) 05:21
2. Fasten Up (Dane Alderson) 06:51
3. Will Power (Bob Mintzer) 04:14
4. November 8th (Russell Ferrante) 06:44
5. The Truth of You (Russell Ferrante) 05:26
6. The Lion (Russell Ferrante) feat. Raul Midón 05:10
7. Swingmeister General (Bob Mintzer) 04:53
8. An Interesting Dream (Bob Mintzer) 05:06
9. Broken (Bob Mintzer) 05:07
10. The Unresolved Question (Russell Ferrante) 06:29
11. Xemeris (Dane Alderson) 07:31
Personnel:
Bob Mintzer: tenor saxophone (all tracks except 3, 6, 8), EWI (1, 3, 6, 8)
Russell Ferrante: piano (all tracks except 2), keyboards (2, 11)
Dane Alderson: electric bass (all tracks), MIDI sequencing (11)
Will Kennedy: drums (all tracks)
Raul Midon: vocals (6), guitar (6)
Producer: Yellowjackets
Recorded June 24-26, 2024, at Henson Studios, Hollywood, CA
Recording, Mixing and Mastering Engineer: Rich Breen
Assistant Recording Engineer: Ciaran De Chaud
Graphic Design: Raj Naik
Review:
Yellowjackets released their first album in 1981; this is the band’s twenty-seventh. Any band still going after forty-four years must be doing something right, and Yellowjackets’ mix of jazz-fusion, straight-ahead jazz and R&B has gained them a large, loyal fan base.
Over the decades, the band has undergone various iterations (past drummers include Peter Erskine and Teri Lyne Carrington), but the one constant has been keyboardist Russell Ferrante, who is a founder member. Saxophonist Bob Mintzer has been a band member for some thirty-five years, while drummer Will Kennedy played with the group between 1987 and 1999, re-joining in 2010. The relative newcomer – bassist Dane Anderson – has been in the band for a decade. It really is a case of the band that sticks together, plays together, and it doesn’t take long for the listener to perceive the strong chemistry that exists between the musicians.
There are eleven tracks on this album, one cover and ten band compositions – Ferrante and Mintzer have each written four pieces, and Anderson, two. Anderson’s contributions include the title track, a jazz-funk tune featuring a heavy, syncopated beat and a punchy funk bass riff. Anderson says the song was partly inspired by Herbie Hancock’s 1974 album Thrust, and Ferrante’s sparkling electric piano solo has echoes of Herbie’s sound. Sax and synthesiser blend to play the theme. Indeed, on many tracks, two instruments often double-up to play the head. Around the midway point, Anderson plays a short, three-part bass solo consisting of a lightning run, a heavy slap bass lick and some sprightly finger work.
‘The Lion,’ written by Ferrante, features guest musician Raul Midón, an American guitarist/singer-songwriter with Argentinian and African-American heritage. Midón was born premature and placed in an incubator. However, his eyes were not protected from the incubator’s very high oxygen levels and he subsequently went blind (the same thing happened to Stevie Wonder). But this didn’t stop Midón from becoming a highly talented musician, who has recorded many albums as a leader, and played with Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Diane Reeves and Sting. In 2017, he released an album called Bad Ass And Blind.
‘The Lion’ is a midtempo, Latin-tinged tune with a strong melody. Midon’s, bright, uplifting wordless vocals remind me of the musical collaborations between guitarist Mike Stern and bassist Richard Bona – the track ‘Language’ from Stern’s 2006 album Who Let The Cats Out, springs to mind. There are also fine solos by Mintzer on EWI and Ferrante on piano.
Mintzer’s gloriously titled ‘Swingmeister General’ does what it says on the tin – it’s a straight-ahead jazz number with plenty of swing.
Mintzer is a powerful tenor sax player and it’s no surprise that his sound and technique were influenced by the late Michael Brecker (who championed the Electric Wind Instrument, which Mintzer has also embraced). Both men were friends and collaborated on many musical projects, including the Jaco Pastrorius’s Big Band. Mintzer has also played with Buddy Rich and various Big Bands – for the past decade he’s conducted the WDR Big Band. But Mintzer is no mere Brecker clone – he has developed a strong, distinctive voice, both on tenor and EWI.
Fans of acoustic piano will really enjoy this album, because Ferrante plays lots of it on numbers such as ‘November 8th’. The date marks no significant event, but rather is a play on the tune’s 11/8 time signature, which is driven by a fast, fluid, circular piano riff. Ferrante also composed the slightly menacing ‘The Unresolved Question,’ and the ballad ‘The Truth Of You,’ with Mintzer’s tenor sax playing the song’s mournful theme.
‘Will Power’ was written by Mintzer and inspired by a beat played by Will Kennedy. The drummer’s animated combination of kick-drum and snare lays down a powerful groove for the band to play over. EWI and piano combine to play the melody. There’s an extended EWI solo, and Ferrante also plays a dexterous piano solo, accompanied by some long lines played on a synthesiser, which are both subtle and effective. ‘Broken’ – another tune written by Mintzer, is an uptempo, swinging number, which includes a stirring bass solo.
The album’s only cover is the opening number, ‘Comin’ Home Baby,’ which has been covered by the likes of David Sanborn, Herbie Mann and Quincy Jones. The Yellowjackets’ driving version features some solid drumming by Kennedy, Mintzer doubling up on tenor sax and EWI to play the head, and a piano solo from Ferrante.
The album’s closer, ‘Xemesis,’ was composed by Anderson. It’s an intriguing piece, mixing electronica and jazz. Anderson uses MIDI programming to create a circular, warbling electronic riff, which is combined with a heavy drum beat. This is overlain with the sound of Mintzer’s tenor and Ferrante’s electric piano. There are stop-start sections, one of which leads into an acoustic piano/saxophone duo. Mintzer and Ferrante also solo on tenor sax and electric piano respectively. This is an album of strong compositions, subtle arrangements and stirring musical performances. All I can say is: strap yourself in for an exhilarating musical ride.
George Cole (Jazz Views)
