Evan Cobb’s sleekly confident Falling Up, set for release on Nov. 29, punches a gaping hole in the old saw about educators. You know the one that goes: “Those who can, do; those who can not, teach.” That’s perhaps best heard on “Eastern Bell Feel,” a hip update of the standard “Cherokee,” as this Nashville, Tenn.-based musician and educator leads a smart group of collaborators through a convoluted but ever-swinging rhythmic journey. Cobb, who apprenticed under Eric Alexander and Jon Faddis, brings a similar compact certitude to each of the songs here, this feeling that the base of each has been carefully considered. And for good reason: Six of the eight tracks on Falling Up were written for Cobb’s monthly jam session at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. Cobb would compose the tune with that month’s special guest in mind, then workshop the tune up to and then through the performance. From that strong foundation, Cobb and Co. then apply a series of dynamic, sharply creative solos — rising like fattening thunder or a skittering bolt of lightning overhead. An impressive straight-ahead session.
[amazon_enhanced asin=”B005TK1YDI” container=”” container_class=”” price=”All” background_color=”FFFFFF” link_color=”000000″ text_color=”0000FF” /]
Falling Up features special guest Jeff Coffin, of the Dave Matthews Band and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, as well as Nashville performers like bassist Jonathan Wires, drummer Joshua Hunt and trumpeter Matt White. Coffin appears on “Mahdernism” and “Crescent City Ditty.” ‘Half Notes’ are quick-take thoughts on music from Something Else! Reviews, presented whenever the mood strikes us.
- How Deep Cuts on ‘Music From Big Pink’ Underscore the Band’s Triumph - July 31, 2023
- How ‘Islands’ Signaled the Sad End of the Band’s Five-Man Edition - March 15, 2022
- The Band’s ‘Christmas Must Be Tonight’ Remains an Unjustly Overlooked Holiday Classic - December 25, 2016
