Escapement Featuring Henry Franklin Erik Jekabson Matt Clark Gregory Howe And Mike Clark

On their second album, Daggerboard & The Skipper (2022), the Bay Area group collaborated with Henry Franklin, the veteran bassist best known for the 70s cult albums he recorded on Black Jazz. Franklin (aka "The Skipper") is still with the group two years later, and the ever-evolving collective adds another 70s jazz legend to its roster for the follow-up record: drummer Mike Clark, the legendary jazz-funk master who played with Herbie Hancocks Headhunters. On 2024s Escapement, Franklin and Clark provide the flexible rhythms for the two bandleaders, percussionist/producer Gregory Howe and trumpeter Erik Jekabson, as well as pianist Matt Clark and a handful of guests. With Clark and Franklin on board, one would expect Escapement to primarily go for 70s fusion nostalgia -- but that is just one aspect of the record, which continues the cinematic quality of its predecessor. Some of the tracks definitely recall the era of rubbery grooves and shimming keyboards -- "Climbing in the Cocoon" has a tasteful electric piano sound which could easily be a more relaxed segment on a Headhunters record, and "Olivia 1" is anchored by a muscular bass riff and offers Jekabson and guest saxophonist Kasey Knudsen an opportunity to trade some funky banter. But the album offers a variety of other approaches as well, whether its the Middle Eastern-inspired theme of "Shivas Mode," on which Matt Clarks acoustic piano adds some harder edges, the playful "Distant Sirens," which throws some marimba into the mix, or the more dramatic "Concrete Dim," whose suspenseful quality is underscored by the orchestral arrangement. Two of the songs, "Returning the Pendulum" and the title track, are essentially orchestral pieces, too, and emphasize the records widescreen approach. The cover artwork, with its complex machine combining the individual instruments, implies a more rigid affair, but Escapement ultimately feels more laid-back and loose -- its mood music, suggesting a noir-ish detective fiction score as fondly remembered by a group of genial jazz fusion veterans who simply enjoy each others company. ~ Christian Genzel