On Spirits Awake, the Freedom Art Quartet
immediately announces its overall dedication to
groove and funky second-line beats with "In the Thick
of It," as Jaribu Shahid’s ripely swinging bass gives
way to Abraham Burton’s lush, confident tenor and
Omar Kabir’s incisive and radiant trumpet. On
"Kimbunga," Kabir switches to flugelhorn and makes
it growl like a trombone without the aid of a slide or
plunger mute, and guest altoist Douglas Yates solos
busily before the band returns to state the theme.
Following this enticing exposition and summary
of Freedom Art’s artistic ambition, the lazy swing of
"Monking Around" features Shahid dead on the beat,
Burton’s coherent and authoritative tenor statements,
and Lloyd Haber’s drums filling and rolling in a swirl
all around. These are Haber’s compositions, and
though they follow the convention of in-turn solos
bracketed by main themes, the music is lively and
brimming with melody, and the musicians make the
most of their own time, and the listener’s.
Spirits Awake reaches its climax with "Love of
Illusion." As the tune begins, Kabir makes room for
Burton to get aggressive, and the saxophonist ascends
higher and higher with each bar, spurred on by the
churning rhythm section. When the trumpet returns,
it’s Latin-tinged, inspiring a brief but eclectic cutting
session between the two horns. Sadly, the musicians
are still trading lines as the piece fades out. I could
have stood another ten minutes, easy. This musical
crescendo makes the next track, "Spirits of New York,"
sound like a benediction, resolution presented as a
melodic Aylerian elegy. Burton overblows and
vibrates at a sorrowful pace before the melancholy
walk transforms into a more joyful stride, like a minifuneral
march, New Orleans-style.
Structured like a drama in five acts (with an added
scene or two), Spirits Awake captures the listener’s
interest, holds that interest with creativity and
intensity, then rewards it with excitement generated
by musical variety and masterly expressiveness.
This review originally appeared in
All About Jazz-New York.
~ Jeff Stockton
