WARREN WOLF - Convergence
Mack Avenue Records, MAC110
Warren Wolf (vibes, marimba, Fender Rhodes, piano) Christian McBride (bass) Brad Mehldau (piano) John Scofield (guitar) Jeff “Taint” Watts (drums)
Recorded at Avatar Studios, NYC, no dates given.
With this second Mack Avenue release under his own name Warren Wolf finds himself in the company of four of the biggest names on the contemporary scene confirming his arrival as a player of significance. For those who have already checked his contribution to pianist Aaron Diehl’s debut disc and his service with Christian McBride’s group `Inside Straight` as well as his own maiden release, `Wolfgang`, it will come as no surprise to witness his rapid elevation to the super league of modern, mainstream jazz.
All-Star aggregations can sometimes enlarge the egos of those taking part but nothing like that happens here, no-one attempts to elbow Wolf out of his leadership role and there is never any doubt that this is his disc, conceived and arranged by him to show off his capability across various musical styles and formats. The listener is offered a delectable variety of pieces of which two are performed by the full quintet, the remainder being quartets, trios, duos, and a final solo performance on marimba and vibes which cunningly combines a luminous version of `Stardust` with Chopin’s `Minute Waltz`. Here and there Wolf adds some judicious overdubbing to tastefully augment his harmonic palette and even engages in a conversational exchange between his two mallet instruments on a silky, seductive version of Stevie Wonder’s lovely tune `Knocks Me Off My Feet`.
There are many delights of this type but there are also flashes of steel as in the quintet track `Havoc` in which Scofield’s sleazy guitar sound contrasts effectively with the purity of the leader`s crystalline stream of arpeggios. Further variety is to be found in the humorous and headlong `Cell Phone` featuring quirky solos by Wolf and Mehldau which contain references to certain familiar ringtones underpinned by some torrential drumming from Watts and for straight ahead swing there is a jaunty duo entitled `King of Two Fives`, a happy tune reminiscent of `I’m Getting Sentimental Over You` providing McBride with the space to deliver one of his characteristically warm hearted solos in a conversational exchange with the leader.
As well as the schmoozers and sizzlers there are several pieces that reveal the more serious, devotional side of Wolf’s talent as a composer. `A Prayer for the Christian Man` is a modal threnody which starts quietly over an insistent but gentle vamp, gathering in intensity against a wash of cymbals and surging polyrhythmic drumming whilst the eleven-minute tone poem for quartet, `Four Stars from Heaven ` opens and closes with an ethereal glissando moving through several tempo changes and moods whilst featuring substantial solos from Wolf and Mehldau.
As a showcase for Wolf’s accomplishments `Convergence` provides an excellent vehicle and for the listener an example of music making of a high order that will provide repeated pleasure, a worthy addition to the increasingly impressive Mack Avenue catalogue.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Mack Avenue Records, MAC110
Warren Wolf (vibes, marimba, Fender Rhodes, piano) Christian McBride (bass) Brad Mehldau (piano) John Scofield (guitar) Jeff “Taint” Watts (drums)
Recorded at Avatar Studios, NYC, no dates given.
With this second Mack Avenue release under his own name Warren Wolf finds himself in the company of four of the biggest names on the contemporary scene confirming his arrival as a player of significance. For those who have already checked his contribution to pianist Aaron Diehl’s debut disc and his service with Christian McBride’s group `Inside Straight` as well as his own maiden release, `Wolfgang`, it will come as no surprise to witness his rapid elevation to the super league of modern, mainstream jazz.
All-Star aggregations can sometimes enlarge the egos of those taking part but nothing like that happens here, no-one attempts to elbow Wolf out of his leadership role and there is never any doubt that this is his disc, conceived and arranged by him to show off his capability across various musical styles and formats. The listener is offered a delectable variety of pieces of which two are performed by the full quintet, the remainder being quartets, trios, duos, and a final solo performance on marimba and vibes which cunningly combines a luminous version of `Stardust` with Chopin’s `Minute Waltz`. Here and there Wolf adds some judicious overdubbing to tastefully augment his harmonic palette and even engages in a conversational exchange between his two mallet instruments on a silky, seductive version of Stevie Wonder’s lovely tune `Knocks Me Off My Feet`.
There are many delights of this type but there are also flashes of steel as in the quintet track `Havoc` in which Scofield’s sleazy guitar sound contrasts effectively with the purity of the leader`s crystalline stream of arpeggios. Further variety is to be found in the humorous and headlong `Cell Phone` featuring quirky solos by Wolf and Mehldau which contain references to certain familiar ringtones underpinned by some torrential drumming from Watts and for straight ahead swing there is a jaunty duo entitled `King of Two Fives`, a happy tune reminiscent of `I’m Getting Sentimental Over You` providing McBride with the space to deliver one of his characteristically warm hearted solos in a conversational exchange with the leader.
As well as the schmoozers and sizzlers there are several pieces that reveal the more serious, devotional side of Wolf’s talent as a composer. `A Prayer for the Christian Man` is a modal threnody which starts quietly over an insistent but gentle vamp, gathering in intensity against a wash of cymbals and surging polyrhythmic drumming whilst the eleven-minute tone poem for quartet, `Four Stars from Heaven ` opens and closes with an ethereal glissando moving through several tempo changes and moods whilst featuring substantial solos from Wolf and Mehldau.
As a showcase for Wolf’s accomplishments `Convergence` provides an excellent vehicle and for the listener an example of music making of a high order that will provide repeated pleasure, a worthy addition to the increasingly impressive Mack Avenue catalogue.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
