Cover Art (Concord)
NEXT Collective
Released February 26, 2013
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2013
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/browse/MPREb_OqD69LmODZ7
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5MmKWclwqiH8mFdDExMZcl?si=KVx1YuFjQKyEjbMJ1apBZA
About:
Concord Jazz, a division of Concord Music Group, releases an exciting new project by NEXT Collective titled Cover Art — an ensemble recording by the next generation of jazz greats exploring their own interpretations of songs by such contemporary artists as Bon Iver, Drake, N.E.R.D, Little Dragon and more. The album contains 10 tracks and the digital version will include special bonus tracks. Not often—maybe every quarter century—a new generation of musicians gets to the scene and rapidly develops a collective musical identity of its own. So it was in the jazz of the late ’60s and into the ’70s when a group of newcomers helped bring the funk and R&B grooves. We saw it again in the early ’90s, when a loose-limbed hybrid of jazz and hip-hop became the hippest flavor of the day, a crew of jazzmen working closely with deejays and rappers. As one looks further back in the tradition, other generational examples pop up, almost like clockwork. Yet it’s never some carefully worked-out plan that ushers in the new breed. It simply happens—and it’s happening again now. The right people together at the right time, with a marked sound of their own: a sound best described as flowing with the improvisatory rush of modern jazz, all the while reflecting many of today’s most expressive popular styles— electronica and hip-hop; ambient and alternative rock as well as embracing uptempo or slow and moody, there’s a distinct undercurrent of funk. A Dutch music festival coined the term “New Urban Jazz” just this past summer. The leading lights making up this new wave include saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith III, guitarist Matthew Stevens, keyboardists Gerald Clayton and Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams, drummer Jamire Williams and special guest trumpeter Christian Scott (aka Christian aTunde Adjuah). Together these names stand as the best of this next generation. They are improvisers, melodists, and arrangers. Some are bandleaders, some soon to be, and they’re a tight bunch: long-time friends, including a few who have studied together, and all of them have played together, on stages and in sessions. Now, they are all featured on an exciting project—NEXT Collective—an ensemble recording that documents this new jazz age. “There was a point in the sessions for this album,” says producer Chris Dunn, “when I looked around the room and suddenly realized the level of talent packed in there together, the cream of the new crop, so to speak—and how much they are invested in jazz and also soaked in the music going on around them.” Sr. Director of A&R for Concord Music Group, Dunn conceived, coordinated and produced this debut recording along with the members of NEXT Collective. Speaking to the album’s development, Dunn states, “It began as a way of introducing three new artists on Concord—Richardson, Smith, and Stevens. They are all great writers, but doing a recording of their originals, when not using their own band members, and all three having very different styles as leaders…, that’s a tall order musically. It could make for a very disjointed experience no matter how great the playing. Instead, I thought it would be cool to do a project of covers from their generation and make a super group of the same. Each player chose and arranged tunes that came from any contemporary style they really liked: strong melodies but no jazz. The tunes we ended up with really bring something fresh to the table.”
Track Listing:
1. Twice (Erik Bodin / Yukimi Nagano / Fredrik Wallin / Håkan Wirenstrand) 06:20
2. No Church in the Wild (James Brown / Shawn Carter / Mike Dean / Phil Manzanera / Terius Nash / Charles Njapa / Frank Ocean / Joseph Roach / Kanye West / Gary Wright) 06:45
3. Africa (Luther Archer / D’Angelo / Angela Laverne Stone / Ahmir Thompson) 04:23
4. Fly or Die (Chad Hugo / Pharrell Williams) 07:23
5. Oceans (Jeff Ament / Stone Gossard / Eddie Vedder) 06:51
6. Refractions in the Plastic Pulse (Tim Gane / Andrew Ramsay / Laetitia Sadier) 06:35
7. Marvins Room (Jason Beck / Adrian Eccleston / Charles Gonzales / Aubrey Graham / Noah Shebib) 04:35
8. Come Smoke My Herb (Meshell Ndegeocello) 05:22
9. Perth (Justin Vernon) 05:26
10. Thank You (Dido Armstrong / Paul Herman) 03:49
Personnel:
Logan Richardson: alto saxophone (1, 3, 4, 8), flute (6)
Walter Smith III: bass clarinet (6), tenor saxophone (1, 3, 5, 8-10)
Matthew Stevens: guitar (2)
Gerald Clayton: piano (1, 2, 4-10), Fender Rhodes (3)
Kris Bowers: Fender Rhodes (6, 7)
Ben Williams: bass (1-5, 7-10), electric bass (6)
Jamire Williams: drums
Christian Scott: trumpet (2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
Recorded February 13 – 15, 2012, at Sear Sound
Produced by Chris Dunn and Next Collective
Engineer: Ted Tuthill
Assistant Engineer: Kevin Harper
Mixing: Seth Presant
Mastering: Paul Blakemore
Photography: Devin DeHaven
Design: Tony Minter
Executive Producer: John Burk
Review:
A jazz supergroup comprised of some of the biggest up-and-coming names in forward-thinking jazz, Next Collective features saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith, guitarist Matthew Stevens, pianist Gerald Clayton, keyboardist Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer Jamire Williams. Also joining in on the group’s 2013 debut album, Cover Art, is acclaimed New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott. Straddling the line between contemporary jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and harmonically advanced post-bop, Cover Art showcases Next Collective performing a variety of cover songs by contemporary artists like Jay-Z, D’Angelo, Pearl Jam, Drake, and others. In many ways, the album seems like an inspired attempt at developing a body of “new standards” for jazz musicians much in the same way previous generations covered pop songs and Broadway hits of their day. In that sense, Cover Art brings to mind such similar efforts by artists like Brad Mehldau and the Bad Plus, who’ve both recorded albums of covers by artists from the ’70s and onward. The difference is that Next Collective is neither strictly a modern creative jazz band, nor a smooth jazz outfit, but more a group of like-minded, jazz-trained musicians who regularly improvise as a means of artistic expression. Ultimately, with songs that cross the line between edgy, atmospheric alt rock, groove-oriented R&B, and exploratory modal jazz, Cover Art feels less like a side project, and more the work of a unified ensemble.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)
