by Pico
Rufus Reid has never had the flamboyant, edgy comportment of, say, Charles Mingus, but for decades now, he’s been a first-call bassist for many of the finest jazz (and even non-jazz) musicians. Making his way to the top level of bottom pluckers via stints in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Dexter Gordon’s quartet and a co-led band with Akira Tana, Reid has been the bass player guys as divergent as Stan Getz and Henry Threadgill have called upon because of his pliant, fluid and understated approach that enhances just about any session. Heck, Reid wrote the book on bass playing…no, really, he did: The Evolving Bassist first appeared in 1974 and has gone on to be recognized as one of the essential guides for playing bass.
Reid’s made a few records of his own over the last thirty years, too, showing off his big chops a little more than elsewhere, and providing him a chance to introduce a few compositions of his own. Which brings us to his latest such undertaking he calls Out Front.
Out Front signifies Reid moving out from his usual sideman role to a lead instrumentist. It’s also about him moving out front as bandleader, producer and composer, making this is a Rufus Reid record in many ways. His inspiration for recording this album came from his supporting players pianist Steve Allee and drummer Dudeka Da Fonseca, with whom he’s performed with since 2007 and felt that the sparkle among the three was too good not to document in a studio. When these seasoned pros finally got to do so toward the end of 2008, they settled on a repertoire of the best songs contributed from Reid, Allee and Da Fonseca, as well as three covers.
Reid may have brought in the guys he did to record with because he likes them, but both are the type that anybody would like, because they are experienced, listen well and never overplay. Allee has already been celebrated on this space, both for his sideman work and his own last two albums. Da Fonseca’s career has been no less noteworthy, having done stints with leading lights Antonio Carlos Jobim, John Scofield, Joe Henderson, Nancy Wilson and Kenny Barron, just for starters.
Every song here has strong melodies that Reid spins around his impeccable bass lines. You can feel his firm bass walk anchoring down his own composition “Glory” even as Allee solos, and when Reid takes his own lead, it’s authoritative and bursting with non-repeated, rhythmic phrases. Da Fonseca’s own “Dona Maria” is a marvellous blend of samba and straight ahead rhythms that Reid astutely finds a constant pulse that ties the two worlds together. Allee’s “Ebony” is a triplet melody in one of those situations where the piano seems to be driving the drums, instead of the other way around. Reid, as always, instinctively finds the spaces to fill with the right counter melodies.
Tadd Dameron’s “If You Can See Me Now” begins with Reid alone playing the melody in such as caressing, lyrical way, it’s almost a letdown when the rest of the band enters. Ried never strays far from the basic melody, but he plays it so well, he doesn’t have to. “The Cryin Blues” comes his one of old bosses, sax legend Eddie Harris. It’s a pure blues that the band uses as a vehicle to swing like hell, and they indeed do.
The CD comes with a 12 minute video in MP4 format of the trio talking about the record’s performances and describing the magic they felt during those sessions. Reid, Da Fonseca and Allee have seen it all and done it all, and yet they appear very pleased and invigorated to be playing together in a no-nonsense meeting among masters. It’s an enthusiasm that’s so easy to detect by listening to the record itself. Straight ahead, trio jazz hardly gets played with more sincerity and polish as what you’ll hear on Out Front.
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