Photo credit: Dwayne Hills/www.dhillsphotography.com
Following 2013’s In A World of Mallets (hitting #1 on Jazz Week radio charts), the youngest of New Orleans’ Marsalis Jazz dynasty, Jason Marsalis, is back with his second Vibes Quartet release, The 21st Century Trad Band– set for release October 27th via Basin Street Records! For an early taste of the record, fans can give album cut “The 21st Century Trad Band” a spin where it premiered today with JazzTimes, or HERE where it’s available to post & share.
Backed once again by Will Goble on bass, Austin Johnson on piano, and David Potter on drums, The 21st Century Trad Band puts a spotlight on the growing synergy between these young and talented musicians.
With songs like “Offbeat Personality” Marsalis takes us on a journey through a complex arrangement combining hard-swinging sections with more melodic interludes, unexpected turn-arounds, and an introspective outro. While songs like “The Man With Two Left Feet”and the titular track play with the trad jazz idiom in a contemporary modality. What’s clear throughout the album is the developed control the band has cultivated through further years of playing together; the unspoken communication is evident.
As with previous albums, Marsalis continues his “Discipline” series accompanying himself on a variety of mallet-based instruments including Marimba, Glockenspiel, Tubular Bells, Vibraphone, and Xylophone, further establishing his voice as a mallet-player with the off-kilter blues of “Discipline Meets the Offbeat One” and several interludes with unusual rhythmic patterns and meters.
In addition to including original compositions from his band mates, Marsalis has taken a step further in encouraging the vanguard of the next generation of jazz by including compositions of the young New Orleans musicians Cliff Hines (“Interzone”) and Jasen Weaver (“Blues for Now”), both graduates of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
The shear amount of music, seamless interludes, and a track reflecting on the BP Oil Spill,“BP Shakedown” are testaments to Marsalis’ serious nature towards his work. But just as he touched on playful, uncharted territory with In A World of Mallets’ “Ballet Class” he explores a film noire theme with “Nights in Brooklyn.”
Banjoist Bela Fleck has praised Marsalis for “brilliant ideas that sound as if he’s played them his whole life, but are really coming off the top of his head.” The NEA Jazzmaster stated himself that his last record was “the beginning of a new chapter.” It’s clear The 21st Century Trad Band is a continuation of that chapter, and it’s full of those “brilliant ideas” for which the bandleader has become known.
In support of the new record, the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet will take to the road on a full tour this fall & winter:
Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet on tour
10/29: Naples, FL @ Daniels Pavilion
10/30: Delray Beach, FL @ Arts Garage
10/31: Fort Pierce, FL @ Black Box at Sunrise Theatre
11/1: Pinecrest, FL @ The Banyan Bowl
11/4-5: Seattle, WA @ Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
11/6: Denver, CO @ DazzleJazz Restaurant & Lounge
11/7-8: Folsom, CA @ Harris Center for the Arts
11/9: Half Moon Bay, CA @ Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society
11/13: Barea, KY @ Phelp Stokes Auditorium
11/14: Detroit, MI @ Detroit Institute of Arts’
11/15: Ann Arbor, MI @ Kerrytown Concert House
11/16: Indianapolis, IN @ The Jazz Kitchen
11/20-23: Chicago, IL @ Jazz Showcase
12/4-7: San Francisco, CA @ SFJAZZ Center
