Blue Note artist Johnathan Blake follows up his acclaimed 2021 Homeward Bound with his same quintet, Pentad, for Passages, an album that mostly pays tribute to his late dad, jazz violinist John Blake Jr., and one that rather closely follows the pattern of its predecessor. Blake is a versatile and powerful drummer who is a busy sideman in a variety of settings including Maria Schneider’s Jazz Orchestra and as a vital member of Kenny Barron’s trio for nearly 17 years. Blake’s outstanding ensemble, Pentad, boasts five bandleaders. Their interplay has only grown stronger this time out. They are renowned bassist Dezron Douglas, Cuban-born keyboardist David Virelles. and two of the label’s brightest young talents, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and vibraphonist Joel Ross, who seem to show up on many records just as the label sidemen of the glory years in the sixties.
The album features five Blake compositions and originals contributed by Douglas, Virelles, Blake Jr., and influential drummer and mentor, the late Ralph Peterson. Just as Homeward Bound opened with a brief drum solo, Blake does the same here in tribute to the late Lawrence “Lo” Leathers in “Lament for Lo.” The title track is his dad’s composition, rendered by the full quintet. Consisting of several sections, Virelles begins with authoritative chords and Wilkins becomes the principal soloist gliding lyrically above the sturdy rhythm section as he, along with the pianist and Ross, produce splashes of harmonic colors and textures that presage what follows – part reflective, part passionate, and part spiritual. The lighthearted “Muna and Johna’s Playtime” is named for Blake’s two children, now adolescents, and features spirited exchanges between Wilkins and Virelles, who commands the piano, Rhodes, and MiniMoog, the latter almost serving as another horn, with an extended turn from Ross while the leader steers them through the changes.
Virelles composed “Tiempos,” a confluence of tango, New Orleans patterns, and old-world motifs rendered simply as a piano trio in a tune that’s anything but simple, given its transitions through the different sections. Blake’s “Groundhog Day,” swings with the quartet fully engaged in a tune written during the repetitive days of lockdown. Nonetheless, it is buoyant and sprightly, shedding any hints of melancholy that often accompany tunes written during this period.
The quintet shifts to ballad mode for Peterson’s “Tears I Cannot Hide” with Ross’ and Wilkins’ lines flowing into each other as if they’ve played the piece their entire careers. Known for his energetic Art Blakey-inspired drumming, Peterson composed surprisingly complex pieces with overlapping lead and harmonic voices. While Ross and Wilkins do such at the outset of the piece, Virelles’ Rhodes takes it to a different place that brings in the solemn tones. Douglas, who is also a member of Trey Anastasia’s band not surprisingly contributes the disc’s most rocking tune, first delivering an acoustic bass (which he plays throughout the album) intro for “A Slight Taste.” Virelles returns again to Rhodes and MiniMoog, orchestrating a dancing motif in sync with the drum-bass tandem as Ross and Wilkins dart in and out. Blake also steps out in a mesmerizing brief solo, the only time he does so other than on his solo opening.
Wilkins lays out on Blake’s “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” a mostly ethereal track that features Ross. On the closer, “West Berkley Street,” Blake includes samples of his father’s voice on phone messages while the music goes upbeat Motown style, nodding to his parents’ affection for such, as Virelles on piano is the leading voice.
With this ca n’t-miss cast, Blake continues to build his reputation as a composer, delivering another highly creative, evocative statement.
