Search - Branford Marsalis :: Random Abstract

Steep hits a home run....Again

swingswingswing | Australia | 09/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For all those people who are looking for an album that is just a vehicle to display their technical prowess this isn't the album for you. For those people searching for an album that represents the highest level of music being produced at the time, Random Abstract is what you've been searching for. Recorded in 1987 at the time where the direction of jazz had been heading in a different direction for quite some time, Random Abstract re-focuses that bearing to what some people may call mainstream today. As the third jazz album to be released by Branford Marsalis there is evidence that an artist mature beyond his years has emerged. In not only sound but also his ability to create melody's that can stand on their own, without the aid of a band to back them up.Random Abstract comprises of several tributes to some of the main contributors to Branford's concept of music. The two most memorable is Crescent City, a tribute to John Coltrane's 1963-1964 period, and his `steep plays bean' version of I Thought About You. You can tell there is a close place in Branford's heart for Ben Webster when he plays a whole song as accurate as he can in one persons style. The hidden track on his latest release Contemporary Jazz is only testimony to this fact. The other is a tip of the cap to the Blue Note concept with a fantastic rendition of Wayne Shorter's Yes And No. Yesterdays is also a highlight not only because of the groups cohesiveness as a unit but also the unusually slow tempo.This cd conforms to Wynton's "if it doesn't have a blues on it, you should take it back". Broadway Fools swings from start to finish, particularly the bass of the then up and coming Delbert Felix. Lewis Nash also shines but the blow out on Lon Jellis is where we find there is a powerhouse that had been shadowed by Jeff "Tain" Watts. I don't think words can describe what Kenny Kirkland achieves on this record. Wether it be a blow out, a tender rendition of Yesterdays or a hard swinging I Thought About You he tears everything up. For the fans of the Marsalis family you will be pleased to know that to obtain more wood sound from the bass, this disc was recorded without the usage of the dreaded bass direct."