RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA - Hero Trio
Whirlwind Recordings: WR4760
Rudresh Mahanthappa: alto saxophone; Francois Moutin: double bass; Rudy Royston: drums
Recorded January 24th and 25th 2020 by David Amien at Sound on Sound Studios, Montclair, New Jersey
Mahanthappa is Director of Jazz at Princeton and this is the sixteenth recording that he has led / co-led over a quarter century in jazz. On this set, the focus is exclusively on cover versions; although, of course, in a trio that has no instrument dedicated to playing the chords, ‘covers’ is a bit of a misnomer. The trio find ways to take tunes, typically from saxophonists like Parker, Coltrane or Coleman, and rework them. One of the striking aspects of Mahanthappa’s mastery of the sax is the way that he is able, for a few bars, to inhabit the sound and phrasing of any of these players and then move effortlessly away from this into his own version of the tune and his own stylings. He might be saying to younger players, ‘Well, playing in the style of X’ is as easy as this – what you need to find is your own voice. And this is a masterclass is doing just that – not only in terms of playing but also in terms of working the tunes. Even non-jazz songs, like Stevie Wonder’s ‘Overjoyed’ or June Carter Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’, get revised in much the same spirit as Coleman’s ‘Sadness’ or Gershwin’s ‘I can’t get started’. In all of these, there is the head that you instantly recognise and then the enjoyment of hearing this dissolve into new and unfamiliar strains. In this respect, the rhythm section are exactly on point and there is nowhere where you need to hear a fourth instrument giving the definition of the chord sequence, or even a basic marking of time; each instrument is working across each bar to find ways of combining the tempo, the timbre and the melody in a way that defines their own individual styles but which creates a great sense of unity. Even with Keith Jarrett’s ‘The Windup’, the trio take a ‘piano’ piece and dispense with the piano in a way that makes it hard to spot what it missing.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Whirlwind Recordings: WR4760
Rudresh Mahanthappa: alto saxophone; Francois Moutin: double bass; Rudy Royston: drums
Recorded January 24th and 25th 2020 by David Amien at Sound on Sound Studios, Montclair, New Jersey
Mahanthappa is Director of Jazz at Princeton and this is the sixteenth recording that he has led / co-led over a quarter century in jazz. On this set, the focus is exclusively on cover versions; although, of course, in a trio that has no instrument dedicated to playing the chords, ‘covers’ is a bit of a misnomer. The trio find ways to take tunes, typically from saxophonists like Parker, Coltrane or Coleman, and rework them. One of the striking aspects of Mahanthappa’s mastery of the sax is the way that he is able, for a few bars, to inhabit the sound and phrasing of any of these players and then move effortlessly away from this into his own version of the tune and his own stylings. He might be saying to younger players, ‘Well, playing in the style of X’ is as easy as this – what you need to find is your own voice. And this is a masterclass is doing just that – not only in terms of playing but also in terms of working the tunes. Even non-jazz songs, like Stevie Wonder’s ‘Overjoyed’ or June Carter Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’, get revised in much the same spirit as Coleman’s ‘Sadness’ or Gershwin’s ‘I can’t get started’. In all of these, there is the head that you instantly recognise and then the enjoyment of hearing this dissolve into new and unfamiliar strains. In this respect, the rhythm section are exactly on point and there is nowhere where you need to hear a fourth instrument giving the definition of the chord sequence, or even a basic marking of time; each instrument is working across each bar to find ways of combining the tempo, the timbre and the melody in a way that defines their own individual styles but which creates a great sense of unity. Even with Keith Jarrett’s ‘The Windup’, the trio take a ‘piano’ piece and dispense with the piano in a way that makes it hard to spot what it missing.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
