An auspicious major label debut for a young saxophonist, Divine Travels eschews flamboyance for a deferential, mostly unpretentious bluesy free jazz recording. Lewis, a thirty-something tenor saxophone phenom chose to record here in trio without the safety net of a pianist or accompanying horn.
He chose wisely though, enlisting two superstars musicians, bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Parker, the current godfather of the avant-garde in jazz, leads his own bands and has been a key figure in the careers of Matthew Shipp, David S. Ware, and Cecil Taylor. Likewise, Cleaver's drum-work intersects with Parker and artists such as Ivo Perelman, Craig Taborn, and Joe Morris.
Lewis goes about this session undaunted by his collaborators. The disc opens with the meditative "Divine," the saxophonist's breathy delivery part-John Coltrane spirituality and part-Sonny Rollins inventiveness. Throughout, he possesses an assured calmness of an old soul inhabiting his sound. Each piece ripens, unhurried and unruffled. Lewis weaves "Wade In The Water" and "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless" into one prayer, "Wading Child in The Motherless Water." With Parker's bass as choir the saxophonist's incantation blossoms with Cleaver first accenting, then driving the piece with his sinewy drumming.
He traces a bit of blues through the bebop convention of Sonny Rollins with "Tradition," works through a three-way open-ended improvised piece "Enclosed," and runs wind sprints with Cleaver and Parker on "A Gathering Of Souls," a display of his nimble touch. Two tracks "The Preacher's Baptist Beat" and "Organized Minorities" feature poet Thomas Sayers Ellis reading with the trio. Lewis assimilates every part of his experience into this spiritually infused jazz session. - Mark Corroto
De un modo similar a la irrupción de David S. Ware en Columbia en la década de los noventa, Okeh (el histórico sello rehabilitado por Sony) apuesta por el treintañero James Brandon Lewis para su estreno en una major. En Divine Travels, grabado en trío, el saxofonista cuenta con la colaboración de un par de pesos pesados en la escena de la improvisación actual: William Parker al contrabajo y Gerald Cleaver a la batería; en un par de piezas participa el poeta Thomas Sayers Ellis. El trío afronta un repertorio que mira hacia el free a la clásica, pero sin atreverse a que la intensidad se apodere de su propuesta, al contrario de lo que sucedía con David S. Ware. James Brandon Lewis tiene un sonido con bastente cuerpo, algo que destaca y lo hace especialmente atractivo en los tiempos medios como en el espiritual “Wading Child in the Motherless Water”, inspirado en el clásico “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child”. En la grabación es capaz de plantar cara y tratar de igual a igual a sus dos experimentados compañeros, aunque hay que señalar que abundan en demasía los desvanecidos. Estas interrupciones están muy bien planificadas ya que dejan entrever unas continuaciones muy interesantes, que finalmente no son. Con ello impiden comprobar qué habría sido de los tres músicos en terrenos más abruptos y crispados, así como la capacidad de modelar su discurso. El estreno es agradable, se le podría calificar como free apto para todos los públicos, aunque precisamente por eso deja deja abiertas varias incógnitas que posiblemente el tiempo y grabaciones en sellos más minoritarios resolverán. - Pachi Tapiz /. tomajazz.com
The title Divine Travels immediately brings to mind a medieval treatise “The Journey of the Mind into God.” The sound itself evokes the image of the uncanny, the mysterious. It is a journey “down fresh and unexpected pathways” and you keep on experiencing the unpredictability of the “holy spirit of a gospel service [melded] with the fiery expression of free jazz” by which James Brandon Lewis, a master jazz graduate of California Institute of Arts, explores new idioms of musical expressionism. Lewis’ jazzy sound is built on the foundation of an ever evolving saxophone improvisation with the support of uncommon bass guitar skill of William Parker as well as the dexterity of Gerald Cleaver on the drums.
The first track “Divine” is a lyric engagement with improvisation at various level of musical modality and finds its complement in the last track, “Travels,” in which the journey into the unknown finds its fulfilment in quasi-oriental rhythm. In the track “Desensitized,” there is an almost aggressive contrapuntal discourse between the saxophone and the bass guitar. This mien of counterpoint returns again in the sixth track, “A Gathering of Souls” with Cleaver’s drumbeats coming out with some vivacity and relief of sound. There is also the rhythmically swingy track, “Tradition,” followed by the number “Wading Child in the Motherless Water,” that brings together melodic ideas from such well-known spirituals as “Wade in the Waters” and “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” while creating a new piece from them.
The eighth track “Enclosed,” is a saxophone improvisation with the expressive bowing and plucking skills of the guitarist placed in the background while the track “No Wooden Nickels,” is a concert of African drum beat in combination with “modal jazz and gospel.” The fourth and ninth tracks: “The Preacher’s Baptist Beat” and “Organized Minorities” (still fundamentally built on the saxophone improvisation), have recitation of poems performed by Thomas Sayers Ellis, who created these poetic pieces. In the final analysis however, three things stand out clearly from the innovative creative composition of Lewis: spirituality, musicality and emotional communication. - Jude Orakwe
Tracks
01. Divine
02. Desensitized
03. Tradition
04. The Preacher’s Baptist Beat
05. Wading Child In The Motherless Water
06. A Gathering Of Souls
07. Enclosed
08. No Wooden Nickels
09. Organized Minorities
10. Travels
JAMES BRANDON LEWIS tenor saxophone
GERALD CLEAVER drums
WILLIAM PARKER bass
THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS voice (4, 9)
Music composed by James Brandon Lewis
Recorded on November 22, 2011 at Skyline Productions, Warren, NJ.
Okeh Records – 88883 76664 2