Nashville native Rahsaan Barber brings us over an hour and a half of straight-ahead hard bop on his Jazz Music City label. Barber, an educator, composer, and an authoritative saxophonist on tenor, alto, and baritone horns, leads a rhythm section of pianist Matt Erdahl on piano, Jack Aylor on bass, and Derrek Phillips on drums. Barber's twin brother Roland Barber is added on trombone for five of the sixteen tracks and plays conch shell on one other. Trumpeter Nathan Warner is added for six tracks.
This is quite an impressive double CD album, mainly in the manner of some of the classic Blue Note and Riverside albums of the late fifties through the early seventies. Of note is the quick tempoed "Catch as Ketch Can" with Warner and Barber evoking such bands as Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers or Louis Hayes-Woody Shaw with Barber's sterling tenor sax. Pianist Erdahl is impressive here as well. "The Pink Pirahna" has a prancing groove with Barber displaying his command playing this blues on the baritone. His playing is complemented by brother Roland's equally arresting trombone, with the rhythm section providing a relaxed pulse. "Down in My Soul" sounds like a Ray Charles instrumental with Barber takes us to church, evoking Hank Crawford with Roland's growling trombone recalling Tricky Sam Nanton. Erdahl is a bit spare here, but his deft use of chords in his accompaniment and his short, spare solo is marvelous. Another track in the same vein is "Sunrise Service," with Roland again in a gut-bucket vein.
Other notable selections include "Just Jack," a brief bass solo that leads into the lovely ballad, "Koala," with Warner displaying his bright, warm tone with a mesmerizing solo from Barber. Brother Roland plays the conch shell adding to the serenity engendered by "Jambo Rafiki." "Swang That Thank' is a spirited hard bop burner with Warner followed by the calm, dreaming "The Mountain and the Clouds" with Roland Barber again singing with his trombone. Barber plays alto and tenor simultaneously on the short "Newdayrocks." "NaDJe And The Snow" is a gorgeous ballad showcasing pianist Erdahl.
"Mosaic" closes with the elegiac "Breonna Taylor (How Many More?)." It is a haunting quartet performance whose title should be self-explanatory. It is a coda to an outstanding recording by a first-rate saxophonist-composer and a terrific band.
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a video for "Panic Point" from this album.
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