Guitarist/Composer Tom Guarna Leads All-Star Quintet & Pays Tribute to Kofi Burbridge Via “Spirit Science” (ALBUM REVIEW)

The jazz landscape has no shortage of inspiring guitarists and Tom Guarna is one of the brightest emerging stars.  We use the term “emerging” rather casually here as Guarna has already made albums with players such as Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Jon Cowherd, Orlando de Fleming, Joel Frahm, and Johnathan Blake, to name a few. His peers already recognize him as a major talent. Spirt Science is Guarna’s eighth album, a collection of nine flowing, highly textured melodic originals inspired by, of all things, Pythagorean ideas of the science “sacred geometry.” But don’t be scared off by the esoteric terminology because as Guarna says, “Of course, you don’t have to know any of that to like the music.” Nonetheless, it takes a special breed of player to render this music effectively in the context of a band.  As such Guarana convened a group of exploratory peers: reed player Ben Wendel, keyboardist Aaron Parks, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Justin Faulkner. These high-profile musicians richly complement Guarna’s textured guitar work, which blends his characteristically glowing electric guitar tone (laden with plenty of effects) with imaginative guitar synth (heard in full on the title track) and lightly styled acoustic for a layered, smooth-running set that weaves in and out on fusion and more conventional jazz, creatively blending acoustic and electric instruments.

Guarna has studied the intersection of where science and math meet, from Pythagoras to Da Vinci. He says, “Exploring that changed my perspective on music, really. It’s inspiring to see how science reveals the patterns and shapes in everyday life, the patterns behind everything we experience from nature to architecture to music. Once you’re aware of it, you see those implications everywhere. With Spirit Science, I wanted to evoke those primary, essential shapes – spirals, circles, squares – in my compositions.”

Highlights on Spirit Science include the spirited opener The Trion Re(guitar and sax intertwining melodies), the floating ethereal Platonic Solids (marked by guitar-synth melding), “Two Circles” (which beautifully intersects the sax, guitar and keyboards), the apt twisting angularity of “Metatron’s Cube” and the album-capping “Lullaby for Lena,” which departs from the album concept in a quiet, tuneful tribute to Guarna’s beloved rescue dog. Guarna speaks about his writing placing an emphasis on melody and space – storytelling through instrumental music. “A Trion Re,” for instance, refers to the sixth Platonic solid whereby light is an object. “Guarna notes, “the same way you can rock out to any song without knowing anything about the concept of the album the song came from.” The inspirational concepts behind the new music also came into play during rehearsals. “The band was really interested in knowing where the pieces were coming from,” the guitarist says. “Aaron, especially, because he already knew a lot about these things. We discussed the subject in relation to the song titles and the musical material and was motivated to choose just the right mix of keyboard sounds to bring out what I was after in the music.”

Spirit Science represents perhaps the broadest sonic palette Guarna has conjured on record.  Along with Guarna’s layered mix of electric, acoustic and guitar-synth tones, Wendel – who plays tenor saxophone on most of the record – plays a seldom-used instrument in this kind of setting, a  beautifully toned bassoon on the low end for the memorial piece “A Reflection in a Reflection (for Kofi Burbridge).” The quintet is a mix of players Guarna has worked with before while others are new. Wendel was added principally for the organic sound that Guarna wanted to offset his use of so many effects and electronics. Wendel really lets loose with an aggressive solo on “The Genesis Pattern.” Parks is valued not just for his keyboard work but for his ideas of sounds, different backgrounds, and inventive arrangement ideas. Perhaps the contemplative “Source” a prime example. Guarna had played often with Martin, choosing him for his bass sound, choice of notes, and great listening ability.  Although he had never worked with Faulkner before, he was familiar with Faulkner’s playing with Branford Marsalis and thought the pairing with Martin would work well.

At a time when there’s a real divide between those that listen to science and those that ignore it, Guarna is embracing science while at the same time letting us know we don’t need to know a thing at all about the concepts behind the music to enjoy it.  Perhaps song titles are at least evocative food for thought. Yet, most of us are going to put all of that aside in favor of a sonic experience best enjoyed with headphones on. You can get lost in this music and probably should.

Photo by Pete Coco

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