Pride & Joy

Best known for his work with the Brian Blade Fellowship, pianist Jon Cowherd spotlights his own swinging, harmonically nuanced leadership skills on 2022s Pride & Joy. Although separated by several years, Pride & Joy is essentially a follow-up to the pianists 2013 debut, Mercy. As with that album, here Cowherd is joined by the primary members of what could easily be described as his supergroup trio, drummer and longtime collaborator Blade and bassist extraordinaire John Patitucci. Adding to the supergroup vibe of the album are several special guests. On Mercy, Cowherd showcased guitarist Bill Frisell. Here, he brings along saxophonist Chris Potter and percussionist Alex Acuna, who apply their own virtuosic skills to half the album. Creative partners since they first met while students at New Orleans Loyola University, Cowherd and Blade have an almost telepathic musical connection. Patitucci, with his warm tone and lithe harmonic lines, rounds out the empathic vibe of the trio. Its an organic sound they exploit on tracks like the spiraling "The Colorado Experiment" and the far-eyed ballad "Honest Man," the latter of which is a tribute to Cowherd and Blades Loyola mentor Ellis Marsalis. Theres also "Chickmonk," whose edgy melody certainly evokes a combination of the two artists referenced in the song title. That said, the cuts with Potter and Acuna are equally dynamic. The opening "Grand Mesa" is a wide-swinging modal number where Potter pushes the melody with his robust, Coltrane-esque tone. More ruminative is "Little Scorpio," a slow-churning, minor-key piece that has the chamber jazz intensity and raw spirituality of a Radiohead song reworked by South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Equally compelling is the kinetic title track, with its roiling, fusion-meets-bossa nova atmosphere. ~ Matt Collar

世界最高峰ドラマーであるブライアン・ブレイドが長年相棒として絶大な信頼を寄せるピアニスト/コンポーザー、ジョン・カワードによる新作リーダー・アルバムが登場!西海岸の新興レーベル「Le Coq Records」からのリリースです。ドラムはもちろんブレイド、ベースにジョン・パティトゥッチというトリオに三曲でクリス・ポッター、アレックス・アクーニャがゲスト参加...どう転んでも間違いない布陣が揃って本領発揮。崇高なほど美しいフレーズが絶え間なく繰り出され、驚異的なアンサンブルが至福の高揚感をもたらしてくれます。
intoxicate (C)谷本真悟