With his third Blue Note album, 2022's Parable of the Poet, vibraphonist Joel Ross offers yet another window into his nuanced and sophisticated post-bop world. Where 2020's Who Are You? found him taking a more compositional, intricately arranged approach, Parable of the Poet feels raw and atmospheric, as if it was recorded live in concert. Technically, the seven tracks on Parable of the Poet make up an album-length suite that seems to be loosely conceptualized around a church service. Featured is Ross' octet with alto ...
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With his third Blue Note album, 2022's Parable of the Poet, vibraphonist Joel Ross offers yet another window into his nuanced and sophisticated post-bop world. Where 2020's Who Are You? found him taking a more compositional, intricately arranged approach, Parable of the Poet feels raw and atmospheric, as if it was recorded live in concert. Technically, the seven tracks on Parable of the Poet make up an album-length suite that seems to be loosely conceptualized around a church service. Featured is Ross' octet with alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, tenor saxophonist Maria Grand, trumpeter Marquis Hill, trombonist Kalia Vandever, pianist Sean Mason, bassist Rick Rosato, and drummer Craig Weinrib. Working with a deeply organic and improvisational style, Ross allows each song to breathe, taking on new life under his band's sway. Many of Ross' spiritually redolent ideas are reflected in the titles, as on "Prayer," a languid and dreamy opener with a flowing, R&B- and gospel-inspired lyricism. Similarly, "Wail" is pure anguish as Grand and Wilkins soar with throaty intensity over Ross and his rhythm section's rambling, Charles Mingus-esque groove. There's also an underlying mix of Latin and classical influences running through much of the album that comes out in subtle ways. "Doxology (Hope)" starts with a frenetic saxophone solo from Grand that leads into a spiraling, flamenco-inflected groove where each soloist takes turns cartwheeling through the circular, minor-key form. Similarly, "Guilt" is a mournful ballad helmed by trombonist Vandever that evokes the dancerly Afro-Cuban work of artists like Ibrahim Ferrer and the Buena Vista Social Club. Also engaging, "Choices'' opens with an unaccompanied trumpet solo from Hill that balances warm lyricism with edgy modern classical phrases. From there, Ross leads his group through a slowly moving tone cloud in which the whole band seems to be moaning with a collective grief over all the pain and suffering in the world. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi
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