Thoughts Become Things (Blue Room Music)
Victor Gould
Released July 19, 2019
Stereogum 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2019
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About:
Hailed as “a composer of great ambition and skill” from All About Jazz, pianist Victor Gould returns in brilliant form on Thoughts Become Things, his third album as a leader. In the spirit of his 2016 debutClockwork, Gould constructs a rich and involved ensemble sound with multiple horns, string quartet and percussion along with bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Rodney Green in the rhythm section.
But taking a page from his 2018 sophomore release Earthlings, a more stripped down and piano-centric effort appears, Gould features his piano virtuosity to a greater degree on Thoughts Become Things, highlighting one horn soloist per song and foregrounding his consummate skill as a player — a quality that has earned this young pianist major engagements with Wallace Roney, Ralph Peterson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Donald Harrison, Louis Hayes, Vincent Herring, Eric Alexander and more.
Gould’s steadiest gig of late has been with trumpet sensation Jeremy Pelt, as documented on Make Noise!, Noir en Rouge: Live in Paris and Jeremy Pelt The Artist. Archer plays bass in Pelt’s band as well, along with percussionist Ismel Wignall; Gould recruited the lot of them for Thoughts Become Things. There’s been percussion, in fact, on every Gould album to date, as he explains in the liner notes: “I really love to accentuate the connection between the swing feel and African drums. The percussionists I’ve worked with so far have really accentuated African rhythm, and that’s an important connection to me.”
Flutist/alto flutist Anne Drummond, alto/soprano saxophonist Godwin Louis and tenor saxophonistDayna Stephens join Pelt, functioning as a vibrant horn section (and each as a brilliant soloist). We also hear from a full string quartet with Yoojin Park and Jim Tsao on violins, Jocelin Pan on viola and Susan Mandel on cello. Lucas Pino’s bass clarinet and Aaron Johnson’s bass trombone bring additional color and weight to the arrangements on several tracks.
Gould in the liner notes muses on the title Thoughts Become Things: “I’ve been thinking recently about how we manifest our own future, and how our thoughts mold our reality, both negative and positive.” The title track and other songs, including “Karma,” “Let Go” and “What Do We Need,” touch on this quasi-spiritual theme, elevating the perspective beyond the personal and individual to encompass the broader society. “The simplest rule,” Gould concludes, is “just to be kind to everyone and think positively.”
Anne Drummond’s role as a central melodic voice is clear throughout. Gould readily cites the importance of flute in his composing, not least because his father is a flutist; he grew up hearing the instrument live and on records. Drummond plays both flute and alto flute, the latter notably in a rousing solo on “October.” Godwin Louis, one of Gould’s dearest friends, stretches out on “Karma”; Dayna Stephens soars on tenor on “Let Go”; Jeremy Pelt shines not only on “Inheritance” but also with Gould on a luminous duo rendition of the standard “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” Through it all, the lushly voiced horn harmonies and string counterpoint, buoyant percussion and tight, sophisticated rhythmic concept come together in what is for Gould a personal ideal: an instrumentation that can express the fullness of what he hears, yet light enough to allow the piano to speak, in some of the most fluid and mature improvising you will hear on the scene today. And in the sublime solo piano meditation “Brand New,” we hear from him even more directly, freely improvising out of tempo on a theme, opening the album in poetic style.
Thoughts Become Things, one could say, began as a thought; it is now a thing, a document charting Gould’s course, an experience to savor, from one of jazz’s very best.
Track Listing:
1. Thoughts Become Things (Victor Gould) 3:54
2. October (Victor Gould) 6:20
3. Brand New (Victor Gould) 4:19
4. Karma (Victor Gould) 5:49
5. Let Go (Victor Gould) 7:31
6. Inheritance (Victor Gould) 8:08
7. Polka Dots And Moonbeams (Jimmy Van-Heusen) 7:56
8. What Do We Need? (Victor Gould) 5:47
Personnel:
Victor Gould: piano
Jeremy Pelt: trumpet (1, 2, 4 to 7)
Godwin Louis: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone (1, 2, 4 to 6)
Dayna Stephens: tenor saxophone (1 to 3, 4, 5)
Anne Drumond: flute, alto flute (1, 2, 5, 6, 8)
Vicente Archer: bass (1, 2, 4 to 6, 8)
Rodney Green: drums (1, 2 to 6, 8)
Lucas Pino: bass clarinet (2, 6, 8)
Aaron Johnson: bass trombone (2, 6, 8)
Yoojin Park: violin (2, 6, 8)
Jim Tsao: violin (2, 6, 8)
Jocelin Pan: viola (2, 6, 8)
Susan Mandel: cello (1, 2, 6, 8)
Ismel Wignall: percussion (6, 8)
Recorded December 10 & 11, 2018, at Sear Sound Studio, by Chris Allen
Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington
Co-producers: Victor Gould, Chan Jung, Jeremy Pelt
Cover Art: Martel Chapman
Graphic Design: Irem Ela Yildizeli
Review:
Pianist Victor Gould’s debut album, 2016’s Clockwork, featured a large ensemble with multiple horns, extra percussion, and a string quartet, and really made use of every element in panoramic compositions. This album, his third, is a worthy semi-sequel (even the cover art is similar) that includes a few of the same players, including trumpeter Jeremy Pelt (who also employs Gould as a sideman), flutist Anne Drummond, and alto and soprano saxophonist Godwin Louis. Dayna Stephens is on tenor sax, and bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Rodney Green are in back. The music has a lushness not unlike the 1970s work of trumpeter Woody Shaw, on albums like Rosewood and Love Dance. The horns are frequently fiery, the rhythm section swings hard, and Gould’s piano playing is romantic and thoughtful, but the string quartet — used sparingly, not as wallpaper — gives it an unexpected extra something that really sets this record apart.
Phil Freeman (Stereogum)
