The Philadelphia Experiment

The Philadelphia Experiment is a funky jazz trio comprised of drummer Questlove of The Roots, bassist Christian McBride, and pianist Uri Caine.  Their music uses Questlove's tight, simple beats, similar to those he might play with the Roots, but applies them to a jazz context.  Their only release, the self-titled album The Philadelphia Experiment, is a great listen all the way through.  The three main musicians are all from Philadelphia, hence the album's name, but they all bring their own completely different styles into the music.  For instance, Caine generally plays either classical music or a phrentic, avante-garde style of jazz and Questlove comes from a hip-hop background.  McBride plays a lot of straight ahead jazz, but is an extremely versatile musician, who can play convincingly in the funk, classical, and pop genres as well.  Aside from recording with many jazz legends, he has played with the likes of James Brown, Sting, and Carly Simon.

The fusion of musical backgrounds seems like an unlikely, and perhaps strange combination, but the product is a great album.  Uri Caine uses his technique to take interesting solos, while the core of the band, McBride and Questlove, lay down grooves that you can't resist tapping your feet to.  However, though the group features John Swana on trumpet and guitarist Pat Martino on a few tracks, it would be nice to hear horn solos more frequently throughout the album.  Caine does a great job holding it down on the melodic and solo front and it's difficult for me to complain about anything regarding this album, but a little more variation might sound cool.  I think that a sax player would add a particularly nice sound to the group if they were to produce another release.

My favorite tracks on The Philadelphia Experiment are probably "Ain't it the Truth," "Call For All Demons," and "Ile Ife."  The whole album is solid though, and represents a wide range of jazzy and funky styles from shuffle to jazz/hip-hop fusion.  I would love the group to come out with a new release, but I'm not sure if they are intending to do so. However, though I don't know very much about Uri Caine, there is plenty of great music to check out from Christian McBride and Questlove.  I mainly enjoy Questlove's work with The Roots, particularly on the albums Things Fall Apart and How I Got Over.  McBride has some cool solo releases, including Number Two Express and Live at the Tonic.  I also really enjoy his playing with Chick Corea on the album Five Peace Band, which also features John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett, and Vinnie Colaiuta.  The Philadelphia Experiment is an awesome collaboration, with individual musicians that work together perfectly.    

Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet

Picture is of Miles, not Clifford

I'm taking it a little easy on the blogging today.  I've been preparing for multiple hours a day for months for my IU jazz studies audition, and it's finally over.  I played "Joy Spring," off of the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet's self-titled album.  It's a great tune and one of the very most quintessential swing albums of its time.  The quintet features Clifford Brown on trumpet, Max Roach on drums, George Morrow on bass, Harold Land on tenor sax, and Bud Powell's younger brother Richie on piano.  All of them play beautifully throughout the album.

I really have no complaints about the album, as it has had a big influence on my jazz playing.  It's a shame that Clifford died so young in a car accident; his impact was huge in the years he was alive, but he could have done so much more.  Of the albums the quintet released, the self-titled is my favorite, but Study in Brown is also a classic.  They also released an awesome live album, At Basin Street which features Sonny Rollins on tenor sax.

My favorite tracks from Clifford Brown and Max Roach are "Joy Spring," "Delilah," "Daahoud," and the bass feature "These Foolish Things."  "Delilah" in particular is a really great tune and has a very tasty groove.  If you like jazz and haven't heard this album, you should check it out, and if you don't like jazz, this album might change your mind.

Esperanza Spalding: Junjo

I've been hearing Esperanza Spalding's name floating around for a few years now, but for some reason I hadn't really taken the time to check out her music until recently.  Needless to say I'm happy I finally got around to it.  Spalding plays a style of jazz revolving around acoustic bass heavy funk grooves that back up her vocal melodies.  My favorite of her albums are her first release, Junjo, and her newest album, Chamber Music Society.  Her self-titled album Esperanza is also cool, but I didn't like the vocals or grooves as much as in her other releases.

At times I feel that Junjo could use more texture, but ultimately the simplicity gives it a relaxing feel that reminds me of the 1964 release by Stan Getz and Jaoa Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto.  In contrast, Spalding adds more musical elements in Esperanza, which features horn players and backing vocals on some tracks.  I'd say I like the vibe on Junjo better, both because of Esperanza's vocals and because, though Esperanza still provides a nice, relaxing listen, the music gets a bit busy at times.  However, I highly recommend both albums, and the differences show that Spalding is a truly versatile musician and composer.

Her third release, Chamber Music Society, might be my favorite of her albums, but is noticably different from her earlier music.  It features string players and poetic lyrics, though it still incorporates her funky bass grooves.  Spalding's voice is still great (though I don't always like the other singers she features) and the strings provide a very nice effect, particularly on the track "Knowledge Of Good and Evil."  Her basslines continue to provide a solid foundation for the music.  It's interesting to see how how string players can be successfully applied to jazz music, and I have to give Spalding props for fantastic arrangements throughout the album.

My favorite tracks on Junjo are probably the title track "Junjo," "The Peacocks," and "Perazuan," a track that shows the full extent of Spalding's vocal abilities.  Esperanza also has some nice tracks.  The one's I enjoyed most were probably "Ponta de Areia, "I Know You Know," and an interesting arrangement of the jazz standard Body and Soul.  On Chamber Music Society I liked "Knowlege of Good and Evil," "What a Friend," and "Winter Sun" best.  Spalding's music should appeal to just about anyone, since it incorporates elements of jazz, funk, R&B, and classical music.  Also, she's real hot.

Blackalicious: Nia

I had to take this opportunity to give a shoutout to what is easily one of my favorite all-time rap groups.  Consisting of rapper Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel, Blackalicious incorporates tongue-twisting rhymes over drum heavy and often jazzy beats.  My personal favorite album of theirs is the 1999 release Nia.  The album flows nicely all the way through, and every track is a winner.  If I had to find a complaint, a lot of the tracks end with lengthy interludes that include a distant female voice repeatedly saying the word "nia," that I feel are drawn out longer than they have to be and are not as interesting as the regular tracks.  However, even their interludes are backed by interesting instrumentals and samples.  My favorite tracks are "Reanimation," "If I may," and "As the World Turns," but the album is solid throughout, a praise that I seldom give out to hip-hop albums.

In Nia, and other releases, Gift of Gab executes masterful lyricism that varies from, philosophical statements, to societal comments, and even some comedic wordplay.  Possibly my favorite gab lyric is on his solo track, "Lightyears:"

Mentally Beginning at the end
Remembering Entering the gates Of the temples of infinity

Riveting innate Sensibilities epiphanies Levitating thoughts From the earth To begin to see

When the trees Underneath my feet Then begin to shrink

Eye level birds eye view Where the buildings be

Tendency to Define my alignment It renders me Helpless

It's spits like this, that really make you think, that I feel are missing from the hip-hop that gets played on the radio now. It's not hard to see that gab gained a lot from being a writer before he started rapping. Though, Gift of Gab's flow and lyricism are far from the only assets that Blackalicious has at it's disposal. Chief Xcel sets him up perfectly with hard hitting drums, jazz samples, and fresh basslines. Beats by the chief that I particularly enjoy are on Nia's "Making Progress," and "Supreme People" off the album The Craft.

Nia and The Craft are my two favorite Blackalicious releases, but their other studio Blazing Arrow is also very worth listening to, and even features Jurassic 5 MC, Chali 2na, on the track "4,000 Miles." Blackalicious also has two EP's out, A 2 G and Melodica, which are both solid. Gift of Gab's solo music is also worth checking out, though the beats are a more new-age style that I don't like quite as much as those of Chief Xcel.

BADBADNOTGOOD: BBNG

BADBADNOTGOOD is a jazz-hop trio that includes Matt Tavares, Chester Hansen, and Alex Sowinski.  Their recording that I've checked out the most is the mixtape BBNG.  So far I've really enjoyed what I've heard.  With the vast majority of the public disinterested in swing music, I think that groups like this that fuse elements of hip-hop and funk into their music are the future of jazz.  In particular, I think BBNG is going in the right direction for jazz with their covers of classic hip-hop beats and their collaborations with modern MCs.  On their studio mixtape, BBNG, they have a cool cover of Gangstarr's "Mass Appeal," and on their live release they perform jazz renditions of A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation" and a medley of MF Doom's music entitled "DOOM."  I especially enjoy these tracks because they provide a fresh and elaborated perspective on music that was previously only in the form of two measure loops.  Their version of "Electric Relaxation" is probably my favorite of the hip-hop covers.  In this track BBNG jams over the classic tribe bassline and chord changes for 5:32 with elongated jazz solos.

My one problem with this music is that it can be pretty repetitive at times, much like a hip-hop beat except with no rapping.  They have youtube videos out where they perform with Tyler the Creator, incorporating his Odd Future verses and beats in with jazz solos.  I'm not a huge Tyler fan, but the collaboration on "Orange Juice" is awesome, and is a good direction for them.  It would be nice to hear them release more recordings either with rappers or jazz horn players to provide rhythmic and melodic variation over their beats, but they generally do a pretty good job breaking out of stagnant sections in their music.

My favorite tracks from their BBNG mixtape are "The World is Yours/Brooklyn Zoo," "Listeriosis," and "Fall in Love," but there is also a medley of jazzed up music from Zelda games called "Title Theme/Saria's Song/Song of Storms" that I approve of very much.  Their live mixtape is also really cool, and as I listen to it more I'm even starting to prefer it to the studio recordings.  All of their music is available for free on their bandcamp page or on their website, and is definitely worth checking out.  It's nice to see a jazz group trying to reach a younger audience.

Chris Potter Underground: Follow the Red Line

After giving this group a few listens I'm really starting to get into Chris Potter's Underground.  The album I've checked out the most is the live CD Follow the Red Line, and if you're at all into jazz fusion I highly recommend it.  The group consists of leader Chris Potter on tenor sax, Nate Smith on drums, Adam Rogers on guitar, and Craig Taborn on the Fender-Rhodes keyboard.  All of Chris Potter's melodies are extremely funky, and the solos are utilize interesting rhythms and repeated motifs throughout the album (particularly by Potter and Rogers).  I was particularly impressed by Nate Smith who backs up the band with virtuosic, complex rhythms on every track, but still provides an excellent groove.

My main complaint with the group is that they often have very long and spacey sections that just seem to ramble on.  It's easy at times to lose interest when the band stops grooving and just plays avant garde riffs with no real rhythmic foundation for minutes on end, but eventually these segments are always ended by a funky Nate Smith drum beat.  Another problem I had was the lack of a bass player.  Taborn holds it down on the low end and Smith's beats are busy enough that little bass is needed, but I generally prefer the sound of real bass over keyboard generated basslines (being that I play bass, I am somewhat biased in this area).

My favorite tracks are probably Arjuna, Viva las Vilnius, and Train, because they seem to have the grooviest jams.  The iTunes version of the album has a cover of Radiohead's "Morning Bell" which is better than I expected it to be and much less pretentious than Brad Mehldau's cover of "Everything in it's Right Place."  However, though I enjoyed the track, it takes a long time to build up to a satisfying energy level, and I generally disapprove of covering Radiohead.  Nobody can play their music close to as well as they can and it's my opinion that it's better not to try.

For more of Chris Potter's music, I would check out his playing with bassist Dave Holland, particularly on the quintet album Prime Directive.