Whenever I’m making an assessment of a jazz artist I’ve never heard before, I pay the most attention to my head and feet. They have a tendency to move when provoked by riffs. Jazz can be a form of physical exercise for both the musician and the audience. Or, on the other hand, my fingers could be tapping from disappointment. Jazz is a hard sell. It can just as easily be drowned out if the environment proves to be more stimulating than the music/ians. Some people drink to forget; I listen to jazz to forget my drink.
What is undeniable about David Brandom is his technical skill as a saxophonist, composer, and improvisor. His long history as a jazz performer started back in day in Kansas City and took him to heights few musicians have the privilege to experience. His collaborations with icons include, among many others, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Elton John. Brandom has certainly proven himself among the best of the best.
His compositions are surprisingly melodic, favoring running harmonic phrases–often sax/trumpet or sax/electric guitar–before the solos edge their way in. The final track on the album, ‘Quasimodo,’ for example, begins and ends with the pairing of sax and guitar in a long phrase, the rhythmic precision of which is kind of amazing.
Technical mastery is everything, but isn’t everything. The total of jazz is more than the sum of its parts. We mustn’t forget that jazz as a musical form was born out of conflict–conflict with the standard musical forms of the time, and conflict in the lives of the predominantly black artists who gave it birth. The product of conflict is an outpouring of emotion. This is what I find to be lacking from “No Way Out.” Granted, listening to a jazz or blues album rather than experiencing it live is a bit like smelling the steak after its been eaten, but I get the sense that Brandom is scholarly in his approach. His playing is brilliant but careful; likewise his compositions feel like they could benefit from a bear hug into the warm, fragrant bosom of an old jazz mama.
In the end, “No Way Out” left me enjoying my drink as much as the music. Not a bad thing, but in a genre of unpredictability, one hopes never to guess what’s in store.
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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.blujazz.com
http://www.davidbrandom.com
http://www.myspace.com/davidbrandom
