Even the most knowledgeable jazz fans might be surprised to learn that saxophonist James Brandon Lewis (JBL) has issued 16 albums. Yet, since his widely lauded 2021 Jesup Wagon, most of us approach his albums with great expectations. The beauty of JBL is that each of his albums is very different, though linked by his brawny, expressive, fierce sound that makes him arguably today’s leading voice on the tenor saxophone.
Jesup Wagon was a mashup of gospel, folk blues, and echoes of brass bands. 2023’s For Mahalia, With Love with the same cast centered on gospel, while in the same year, his trio offering Eye of the I was a joyous dose of punk jazz and hip-hop. His 2024 quartet album Transfiguration was edgy jazz yet he returned to experimental jazz punk in the same year with the trio The Messthetics.
Now the prolific artist brings a different trio for Apple Cores, his second album for the label, ANTI yet-. These are frequent collaborators, however, as drummer Chad Taylor has played on most of JBL’s records in the last decade, and bassist/guitarist Josh Werner has been with JBL since 2018. In fact, this was the same trio that performed at Newport in 2023. Although the trio embraces some funk and hip-hop, this one essentially moves toward the avant-garde with two threads inspiring the album: Amiri Baraka’s writings and the exploratory music of the late pocket trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Don Cherry. In that sense, he’s honoring tradition, making It far more centered on jazz than Eye of the I. The trio recorded these eleven tracks in two intense, highly improvised sessions.
As is true to his mantra, JBL has delved into research. Each song title is a cryptogram, subtly referencing Cherry and his music. These are not Cherry’s compositions but comments on Cherry’s musical curiosity. “Five Spots to the Caravan” is a key track as the trio embraces the groundbreaking avant-garde approach of Ornette Coleman, Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins circa 1959. The ‘Five Spot” is a reference to the NYC club where Coleman’s band debuted and “Caravan’ references the Caravan of Dreams performing arts center in Coleman’s hometown of Fort Worth, TX. “Remember Brooklyn and Moki” has JBl conjuring dark tones over Taylor’s insistent beats as they pay tribute to Cherry’s wife, the Swedish interdisciplinary artist Moki Cherry, and one of Cherry’s most endearing albums, 1969’s Where Is Brooklyn?
There are three “Apple Cores” improvisations with #1 commencing the session, with Taylor’s hip hop beats and Werner’s thumping bass underpinning JBL’s soaring melody that keeps reaching with hints of bebop and further ‘out’ lines. The other two, “Apple Cores,” ply similar turf with the bass-drum tandem delivering a steady groove over which JBL improvises.“Prince Eugene” has Werner rendering a dub-reggae bassline with Taylor on the Zimbabwean mbira as JBL weaves a ballad melody in softer, elongated tones; a gorgeous track.
“Of Mind and Feeling” takes balladry to its most pensive, sensitive levels in an airy Coltrane-like way. By contrast, “Broken Shadows” has JBL in his trademark, ferocious attack mode, while “D.C. Got Pocket” may reference the Messthetics based there. The saxophonist struts along in a series of similar phrases, carving his way with short clusters and higher register bursts to the dense groove laid down by Taylor and Werner, decelerating to a calm finish. “Don’t Forget Jayne” begins with a series of definitive ‘call to arms’-like riffs, with the leader continuing to embellish and stretch that riff in all directions over Taylor’s furious kit work and Werner’s rumbling bass. The closer, “Exactly, Our Music,” gives us a taste of The Messthetics sound as Werner dons the guitar to create an atmospheric accompaniment to JBL’s lyrical runs.
Just when we think we’ve heard all that James Brandon Lewis has to offer, on Apple Cores, he astutely balances tradition with the new, mixing his patented approach with some new twists, from the energetic to the delicate.
