FEature photo: Joe Crocetta
Drummer, leader and composer Jeff Cosgrove has made some great jazz records while hanging around great jazz musicians, starting with his very first album: For The Love of Sarah (credited to Motian Sickness) was actually a final project of the great drummer Paul Motian that Cosgrove helped to carry out. Cosgrove’s latest, History Gets Ahead of the Story, is a tip of his hat to a still-living legend, bassist William Parker.
Cosgrove’s admiration for Parker does not come from afar; the two have played and recorded together a time or two.
Making an album out of covering mostly Parker’s songs might not been a question asked before Cosgrove did, but thinking about it, it should have been. Parker is nominally ‘avant-garde’ but that suggests that his music is hard to penetrate and it’s far from that. Witness the traditional jazz that informs O’Neal’s Porch, the Hammond B3 soul-jazz of Uncle Joe’s Spirit House or the gospel-pop of his Raining on the Moon sextet.
In celebrating the music of Parker, the ever-creative Cosgrove eschews using more obvious methods, such as a sax/trumpet or sax/piano quartet like the ones Parker has led on and off for the last quarter century. Cosgrove doesn’t even employ a bassist for his tribute(!) Instead, he’s joined only by Jeff Lederer (Matt Wilson Quartet) and organist John Medeski (Medeski, Martin and Wood). This assures that we hear Parker’s songs recast in a new light that also makes one appreciate the timeless goodness of these songs. So, that sweet, blues-imbued figure from “O’Neal’s Porch” is also the centerpiece of Cosgrove’s version but instead of kicking back on a lazy swing, Cosgrove’s groove is light and limber, letting Lederer pour a sack of soul over the proceedings and Medeski follows with his own stylings that gradually goes unbound.
“Moon” is another tune from the excellent O’Neal’s Porch album, presented in an arrangement that’s close to the original; even Medeski’s bass pedals follow the blueprint set by the composer. The main distinction here though is Lederer’s fluttering soprano sax phrasings they bring out the main melody in a cheerful way.
“Corn Meal Dance” is the hopeful title track of Parker’s second Raining on the Moon album. Lederer substitutes Parker’s lyrics sung by Leena Conquest with his tenor and Cosgrove replaces the joyful steps with subdued, nuanced brushes. Along with Medeski’s distant organ, the trio turn the song into an introspective piece. “Little Bird,” alternately called “Petit Oiseau,” comes from Parker’s album of the same French version of the name. Almost as if to emphasize the ‘bird’ in the title, Lederer switches to a bird-like flute for this tune and the head on this rendition takes on a shape that’s defined clearer than Parker’s renderings. Elsewhere though, the band often reaches toward freedom.
Speaking of freedom, Parker’s reputation as a free jazzer is borne out on “Things Fall Apart,” an excursion outside. It’s especially interesting to hear on the organ as Medeski takes a strain and chops it up and moves it around and Cosgrove and Lederer are still able to shadow his arcane moves. “Wood Flute Song” is an opportunity for Cosgrove to showcase his calculating approach to the drums on a song where Hamid Drake is often heard putting a lot of muscle behind it. The unsettled groove is matched by Medeski’s own jagged path through the motif. “Harlem” is here in a slowed down version as Lederer returns to the tenor. Medeski’s bass pedals leave a bigger footprint than the rest of the organ as he plays minimally to let Lederer burn with a low intensity.
There are a trio of tracks apart from Parker’s creations that have different character but no less intriguing. Lederer on clarinet fronts the searching, shadowy contours of both organ and drums on Cosgrove’s original, “Ghost.” “Gospel Flowers” is a waltz with a strong melody supported by Cosgrove’s lithe tonal pulses, allowing Lederer a lot of room to maneuver around. Lederer’s soprano is sorrowful and Medeski’s organ is soulful on “Purcell’s Lament” and the combination of the two makes it a very spiritual song. Cosgrove lets it flow time-free, adding color splashes to enhance that deep vibe.
Being around William Parker has left a deep impression on Jeff Cosgrove, and some of Parker’s creative flair has apparently rubbed off on him, too. History Gets Ahead of the Story goes on sale July 17, 2020.
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