Two acknowledged masters of the vibraphone, Stefon Harris and Joe Locke, and a promising newcomer, Yuhan Su, each have new releases that will make vibrafans vibrate all over.
Yuhan Su
City Animals (Sunnyside Records)
A review
Although City Animals (available 10/26) is young Taiwan-born Yuhan Su’s third album as a leader, I had only recently encountered this award-winning vibraphonist as a member of Big Heart Machine (reviewed here), where she impressed, so I was happy to check out her latest. This collection of nine originals for quintet—with Matt Holman (trumpet, flugelhorn), Alex LoRe (alto sax), Petros Klampanis (bass), and Nathan Ellman-Bell (drums)—does not disappoint. Her compositions, always lyrical, fit together with a pleasing snap of mathematical precision, and if her conservatory training is evident in the tidy rigor of her writing, it never overshadows her inherent playfulness, cleverness, and charm. The opener, “Y el coche se murió,” with its brief quote of Monk’s “Green Chimneys,” establishes that relationship right away. It also demonstrates Su’s technical ability as she develops two voices on her instrument in a delightful counterpoint. Many of the tracks alternate composed and improvised sections, and the former sound remarkably like improvised lines—until you realize that two or three instruments are playing together in perfect synch. Among the high points are “Viaje,” with excellent biplay between Holman and LoRe; the energetic “Feet Dance,” whose head sounds like a David Bowie line; the three-part Kuafu Suite (inspired by a Chinese myth), especially part one, which seems to emerge from a dream or penetrate one; and the elevating ballad “Tutu & D,” inspired by the Dalai Lama’s The Book of Joy. Joy is the objective for Su’s sprightly spirit, and her joy in this music is contagious.
Stefon Harris and Blackout
Sonic Creed (Motéma Records)
A review
After a 10-year hiatus, award-winning vibraphonist Stefon Harris has reconvened Blackout, with some notable changes in personnel, to record Sonic Creed, a celebration of African American culture. Returning from the previous Blackout lineup are the tight and funky drummer Terreon Gulley and the imaginative soprano and alto saxophonist and vocoderer Casey Benjamin. They are joined by James Francies (piano, keyboard), Joshua Crumbly (bass), Mike Moreno (guitar), and Felix Peikli (clarinet and bass clarinet). Among the notable guest performers are percussionist Pedrito Martinez and violinist Regina Carter. The material ranges from two Harris originals to jazz standards such as Bobby Timmons’ “Dat Dere,” which gets a funky Latin twist and an angular Francies solo on keyboard, and check out how Harris pushes the rhythm in his solo. The Abbey Lincoln classic “Throw It Away” gets an otherworldly take and features a lovely Benjamin solo on soprano. Horace Silver’s “The Cape Verdean Blues” has island breezes blowing through it. Harris pays homage to Bobby Hutcherson with a lush and reflective take on the late vibraphonist’s “Now,” with layered vocals from guest Jean Baylor, and he gives a nod of appreciation to Michael Jackson with an elegiac lullaby, “Gone Too Soon.” Harris’s “Chasin’ Kendall,” written for his two sons, distills the Motown sound so perfectly in its bass line, warmed by Peikli’s bass clarinet, that you expect to hear Smokey Robinson’s voice at any moment. The presentation is sophisticated throughout—polished mainstream jazz for the 21st century—but there is always a looseness that reflects the demotic character of traditional black music, which has risen from the conservatories of the street. Harris gives his colleagues plenty of room to stretch, and they repay him with satisfying performances. Still, it’s Harris’s dazzling rhythmic sense coupled with a ridiculously accomplished technique that will most often make you say, “Wow.”
Joe Locke
Subtle Disguise (Origin Records)
A review
With more than 30 albums to his credit as a leader, award-winning vibraphonist Joe Locke has roved across a broad musical landscape that stretches from symphonies to small groups, from Cecil Taylor to the Beastie Boys, with an ever-expanding versatility that embraces all comers. Subtle Disguise (available 11/16) reflects his appetite for diversity with seven sturdy originals that range from outrage to tenderness, from the intensely personal to the overtly political, as well as Bob Dylan’s “Who Killed Davey Moore” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Motherless Children.” His quartet includes Jim Ridl (piano, Fender Rhodes, and synths), Lorin Cohen (acoustic and electric basses), and Samvel Sarkisyan (drums and cymbals). They provide a solid foundation and are joined most fortuitously by guests Raul Midón (voice, guitar), Adam Rogers (guitar), David Binney (alto sax), and Alina Engibaryan (voice). The album opens with the anthemic “Red Cloud,” a nicely structured paean to the Oglala Sioux leader. Binney burns a hole through the song on his solo (is there any altoist who plays with greater intensity?), while Locke explodes the line between inside and outside on his. Locke favors long lines that seduce you into the heart of the tune, as on the pillowy “Safe and Sound (at the Edge of the Milky Way)” and the energetic and good-natured “Blondie Roundabout.” His tender homage to the late Bobby Hutcherson, “Make Me Feel Like It’s Raining,” features a lovely brush-and-ink solo from Ridl. The dreamy title track masks a 1950s Miles Davis tune (no, I don’t know). The Dylan and Johnson tracks, as well as Locke’s outraged “Rogues of America,” take aim at the current state of affairs and benefit from the work of Midón, Binney, and the versatile Rogers. Though stylistically and thematically diverse, the album coheres on the through line of Locke’s direct, passionate, and virtuosic communication.
© 2018 Mel Minter