photo: Nitin Vadukal
by S. Victor Aaron
Yesterday marked the release of Stefon Harris’ seventh album, the urban-minded Urbanus. As this is the second album with his hip-hop/r&b/jazz vehicle Blackout, Urbanus marks the true follow-up to 2004’s Evolution (African Tarantula from 2006 was a delightful little excursion into Duke Ellington).
Harris, in case you don’t know already, is the premier vibe and marimba player to have emerged in the last fifteen to twenty years. Perhaps the logical heir to Bobby Hutcherson, Harris is a post-bop player at heart who has shown more and more of an adventurous streak. His predilection for subtle, sweet playing style makes him more of a master stylist than a showoff, but he’s shown to be capable of handling the entire span of styles. That’s why he’s been in demand for sessions headed by diverse stars as Joe Henderson, Charlie Hunter, Jane Monheit and Boney James.
When Harris is leading his own dates, he can be nearly as diverse. Blackout is a manifestation Harris’ more R&B side. Consisting of Marc Cary on acoustic and electronic keyboards, Casey Benjamin on alto sax and vocoder, Ben Williams on bass and Terreon Gully on drums, this band puts hip-hop, soul and funk ingredients into a big black pot of post-bop jazz. More often than not, the stew is spicy without being overbearing, and these guys capture the feel of 21st century urban vibes. Nevertheless, they never forget the pure beauty of handmade music and the thrill of chasing notes. It may not always make for the most challenging jazz, but it strikes the right balance that can draw in casual listeners while still upholding much of jazz’s sacred foundations.
No where is there more obviously true than with the lead-off track. On Evolution, Harris and his gang tackled Gershwin’s classic tune “Summertime” from the Porgy and Bess folk opera. This time, it’s “Gone,” a variation of “Gone, Gone, Gone.” Like Miles Davis and Gil Evans had done more than fifty years earlier, Harris extracts an improvisation from “Gone, Gone, Gone,” retaining crucial elements of Gershwin’s masterful charts with flutes and clarinets handling that task, and slides in a real funky go-go polyrhythm underneath it. Cary adds Fender Rhodes and clavinet and Benjamin goes nearly avant garde with his alto. Harris’ supplies a counterpoint with a in-the-pocket vibe solo.
Next up is Buster Williams’ quiet storm ballad “Christina,” one that’s well suited for Cary’s Rhodes and Harris’ soft vibes. It’s here where we also first hear Benjamin’s vocoder, an voice-altering device that hadn’t been heard from much since the eighties. On this piece, that device works the best, giving the song a feel similar to Stevie Wonder’s Fulfillingness’ First Finale-era slow jams. Following that is Gully’s “Tankified,” propulsed by Williams’ syncopated acoustic bass line. Harris’ vibes and Benjamin’s alto combine and converse to create some interesting lines. This is where the give and take between funk and modern jazz works the best on this record.
“Shake It For Me” embraces those sweaty James Brown grooves, just as the title suggests it would. Jackie McLean’s “Minor March” starts with competing beats between Harris/Benjamin and Williams/Gully alternating with frenetic, straight-ahead hard bop workouts. “They Won’t Go (When I Go)” actually is a song from Wonder’s Fulfillingness’ First Finale, but this time, Benjamin’s vocoder sounds too much like a gimmick. Cary’s “The Afterthought” is a tale of two attitudes: a straight-jazz acoustic blowing session rotating with some laid-back, organic funk.
“For You” is a sultry, soul number lightly augmented by flutes, clarinet and a violin. And, unfortunately, that vocoder appears again, which at this point has overstayed its welcome. Harris puts in some very good marimba work, though. After the brief blues-based bop number “Blues For Denial,” the album ends with an extended, melodic ballad “Langston’s Lullaby,” a dedication to Harris’ newborn son.
Stefon Harris and Blackout’s Urbanus is interesting and expansive enough to give Harris’ longtime fans reason enough to pick this up, while keeping its finger on the pulse of contemporary r&b enough to entice fans of many of the urban genres. As such, it’s a little bit of a compromise, but there’s enough of both sides to keep both types of listeners reasonably satisfied.
Out on the streets August 25, Urbanus is another major offering by Concord Jazz.
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