Broken Land 2＜Crystal Clear Vinyl＞

Having debuted as a leader with an elusive 2010 date backed by the Robert Glasper Trio, followed seven years later by an album of atmospheric avant-soul, Kenneth Whalum opts to extend the desire line he tread with the latter for his third LP. Like 2017s Broken Land, this sequel of downcast, simmering, and at times elegiac ballads is an outlet for Whalum -- known for his work as a tenor saxophonist with Jay-Z, Maxwell, Mac Miller, and many others -- as a writer, singer, and producer. His reeds are heard on only four of the eight songs. They add conciliatory sweetness to the intro of Burn, inflame All I Need with fraught curlicues, and function elsewhere as an underscoring layer. His voice is just as much an instrument. Not often does it project much louder than a murmur or bedside whisper. Still, virtually every lyric with close listening is comprehensible and also powerful. Girl, is this what you want?, sung in withering falsetto, sounds both aggrieved and empathetic as it opens Party, a gently rocking number that turns out to be more like a riposte. (Get yourself together; Pour a drink for the only person who cares.) With wounded invocations of mother, mother, mother and father, father, father, the opening Prayer unfurls like an intimate gospel twist on Marvin Gayes Inner City Blues and Funkadelics Cosmic Slop. Whalum sounds like hes trembling when he confesses, You see my faith is torn/I know youve heard from me before. Even when the words evoke numbed alienation, involve grave terms, or warn without equivocation, Whalum and co-producer Qmillion keep the effect uniformly comforting and a little heady, like a stimulating salve. The material is illustrated with grace and restraint by drummer Jamire Williams, keyboardist Kris Bowers, and guitarist Adam Agati (those three are on everything), bassists Pino Palladino and Derrick Hodge, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and xylophonist Joel Ross. That eye-popping crew stays in service to Whalum, who accepts and navigates his personal and interpersonal crises with weary if steadfast control. ~ Andy Kellman