When first viewing this title, “Hopium,” it seemed appropriate in today’s climate. While half the country, the side that lost the election, tries to be hopeful, most are just so disillusioned that it’s as if they are in a drug-induced stupor with silenced voices. Saxophonist and composer Dayna Stephens plies this emotional pendulum of hope and deeply seeded cynicism with his acclaimed quartet from his 2021 live album, Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard. They are pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Greg Hutchinson, a proverbial supergroup. Stephens, who has played in acoustic and fusion settings, leads this mostly acoustic endeavor on tenor and alto saxophones. Guitarist Charles Altura joins the ensemble on the closing track, with six of the seven composed by Stephens and another by Parks.
The opener, “Drive North To Find The Oranges Out West,” clearly boasts the most interesting title. It’s a rather clever way of saying that few paths are straightforward. Stephens’ opening tenor soliloquy is contemplative, but as the band joins, there’s a growing sense of momentum and excitement, as if driving toward a goal symbolized by the oranges. Yet, that proverbial road is full of zigzags, melodic twists, and unpredictable dynamics that occur mainly in the rhythm section as Stephens alternately soars and ponders. At the same time, Parks delivers his series of contrasts in his solo as well. While the title is goal-oriented, no major crescendo or explosive finale exists. Instead, the quartet exits in a whisper.
Street’s acute rhythmic sense drives “Jump Start,” a nod to Herbie Hancock’s “A Jump Ahead.” Every 32 bars, Street shifts the harmonic direction, suggesting new starts and renewal as the band locks into this challenging piece with each voice shining through clearly. While, for the most part, the piece surges along urgently, the last two statements, first from Stephens and then from Parks, that begin around the four-minute mark, are pensive as if to say, “Don’t be so impulsive.” It’s as if they are foreshadowing the next wholly contemplative piece, “Trust,” which features a robust, declarative bass turn from Streets and a minimalist solo from Parks as Stephens broods on tenor.
The pivotal title track uses a similar technique in transitions between tracks. The piece’s first half is expansive and uplifting, as conveyed by Stephens’ alto and a churning rhythm section. Yet that sense of optimism dissipates beginning around the six-minute mark, only to end on an unresolved chord, paving the way for the darker, rather bleak “Occasionally Cynical, with the musicians adhering to the tone of the title until the piece evolves into the kind of polarity that characterizes the album, an ebb and flow, a yin and yang, perhaps best exemplified by Parks’ eloquent piano statement.
The pianist contributes “Hard-Boiled Wonderland,” which is not a significant departure from the other material on the album in terms of duality and shifting musical soundscapes. Yet Parks claims to be influenced by author Haruki Murakami’s ideas of alternate realities while musically nodding to Sam River’s “Cyclic Episode” and Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty.” Altura’s guitar induces a different sound shift on the closing “As Truth Rises Above Power.” In some respects, in terms of intention, this is the most hopeful piece on the album as Stephens says, “This piece is a reminder that truth, no matter how suppressed, will eventually emerge victorious.” Yet there is a Twilight Zone reference toward the end of the piece, which, like several others, exits somewhat ambiguously harmonically. While a more emphatic close would symbolize hope, the blurred ending is in keeping with the album’s theme.
Dayna Stephens has long imprinted as one of the most formidable saxophonists on the contemporary scene. Here on Hopium he also makes a compelling statement as a composer.
