With a new home at Blue Note Records, trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard seems reinvigorated and revitalized. While he delivered many fine recordings during his stay with Columbia, the renowned freedom offered by label president Bruce Lundvall has allowed him to produce his best record yet. Bounce is an unassuming, completely uncompromising recording of contemporary acoustic jazz.
Blanchard emerged in the 80s, in the shadow of Wynton Marsalis, even following him in Art Blakey’s mid-80's Jazz Messengers. But while his early style owed something to Marsalis, as he has developed he has shown more of an assimilation of the styles of artists including Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard and 50s-era Miles. His tone is rich; his range is broad; and his playing direct and to the point. There are no wasted notes; everything Blanchard plays counts.
With a group of young players including saxophonist Brice Winston and drummer Eric Harland, both back from 2000’s Wandering Moon session, Blanchard has fashioned a modern sound that is completely organic. It is a risky move to include two keyboard players in a highly improvised context, but pianist Aaron Parks and Rhodes/Organist Robert Glasper play as if they are extensions of each other; the sound is never dense, they seem to intuitively know when to play and when to lay back.
Eric Harland continues to demonstrate why he is a drummer in such high demand. With artists including Jason Moran, Greg Osby, Stefon Harris, Kenny Garrett and Charles Lloyd in his résumé, he is given the opportunity to show a strong stylistic breadth. While every player on Bounce is completely essential, Harland is perhaps more so as he propels every tune; on his own composition, “Transform”, Harland is incendiary, driving every soloist, culminating in a powerhouse solo over a full-band ostinato.
Stylistically, Bounce covers a lot of territory, from Blanchard’s light funk reworking of the Wayne Shorter staple, “Footprints” to the free-style of “Fred Brown” to the African-flavoured “Azania”, which features vocals by African guitarist Lionel Loueke, to the straight-ahead finale, “Bounce/Let’s Go Off”. Blanchard handles most of the writing, but also gives Parks, Harland and bassist Brandon Owens some compositional space. Parks’ “On the Verge” is a take-no-prisoner’s blowing tune, in contrast to the dramatic ballad, Blanchard’s “Passionate Courage”.
Bounce has the feel of a well-seasoned group, and that’s no coincidence. Blanchard took the group out on the road to hone the material before recording it, and the chemistry that has developed is palpable. There is a feeling of commitment, and a sense of purpose that can only come from a group of musicians who have spent some time in each others’ pockets.
Blanchard has had a distinguished career over the past twenty years, emerging as a distinguished voice of significance and consequence. Bounce is a consolidation; a new start on a new label that bodes well for the future. After being groomed in Art Blakey’s band, Blanchard is now grooming a new generation of young players, and the result is a recording that bristles with energy, passion and confidence.
~ review reposted courtesy of
Jazz Review.com
and John Kelman