MATTHEW STEVENS & WALTER SMITH III - In Common
Whirlwind WR4728
Walter Smith III - tenor sax; Matthew Stevens - guitar; Joel Ross - vibes; Harish Raghaven - bass; Marcus Gilmore - drums
This album features some heavy NYC hitters - co-leaders Walter Smith III and Matthew Stevens each have impressive CVs of work with some of the US scene’s stylistic frontrunners, which Marcus Gilmore can match with his own healthy profile. Smith’s debut featured Ambrose Akinmusire and Aaron Parks among the cast, and Stevens holds down a high-profile chair with Esperanza Spalding, so you might expect some kind of post-jazz stretch music here, but instead the dominating presence of Joel Ross’ vibes makes for a kind of reflective, chamber-jazz feel. ‘ACE’ has a kind of backbeat, but it’s very restrained and the focus is on the subtly shifting harmony; ‘foreward’ starts with a beautifully melodic sax/vibes duet, while the late lamented Geri Allen’s ‘Unconditional Love’ gets a breezy, elegantly uplifting reading. Steven’s guitar is restrained and his chord voicings gently ambiguous; Smith marries a light touch to a full, warmly centred tone.
Throughout Gilmore manages to tread a fine line, providing the high energy complexity for which he’s renowned when appropriate but never dominating the overall sound - the deep, rich tones of Raghavan’s bass ties everything together, and the front men give each other space in the most gentlemanly manner imaginable, tempering their harmonic sophistication with plenty of attention to melody and timbre. An outstanding release of modern jazz that shows that progressive musical ideas don’t have to come at the cost of listenability.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Whirlwind WR4728
Walter Smith III - tenor sax; Matthew Stevens - guitar; Joel Ross - vibes; Harish Raghaven - bass; Marcus Gilmore - drums
This album features some heavy NYC hitters - co-leaders Walter Smith III and Matthew Stevens each have impressive CVs of work with some of the US scene’s stylistic frontrunners, which Marcus Gilmore can match with his own healthy profile. Smith’s debut featured Ambrose Akinmusire and Aaron Parks among the cast, and Stevens holds down a high-profile chair with Esperanza Spalding, so you might expect some kind of post-jazz stretch music here, but instead the dominating presence of Joel Ross’ vibes makes for a kind of reflective, chamber-jazz feel. ‘ACE’ has a kind of backbeat, but it’s very restrained and the focus is on the subtly shifting harmony; ‘foreward’ starts with a beautifully melodic sax/vibes duet, while the late lamented Geri Allen’s ‘Unconditional Love’ gets a breezy, elegantly uplifting reading. Steven’s guitar is restrained and his chord voicings gently ambiguous; Smith marries a light touch to a full, warmly centred tone.
Throughout Gilmore manages to tread a fine line, providing the high energy complexity for which he’s renowned when appropriate but never dominating the overall sound - the deep, rich tones of Raghavan’s bass ties everything together, and the front men give each other space in the most gentlemanly manner imaginable, tempering their harmonic sophistication with plenty of attention to melody and timbre. An outstanding release of modern jazz that shows that progressive musical ideas don’t have to come at the cost of listenability.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
