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Jessica Jones Quartet: Moxie
ByThe album opens with the true-to-name title tracka funky and off-kilter composition that periodically dissolves, only to be brought right back to form with a swiftly executed rhythmic figure. The tenors move along with a combination of patience and attitude, enhancing the underlying feel with there cool-headed, hot-blooded moves. "In A Sentimental Mood" follows, both lining up with and defying expectations. The song largely adheres to its well-worn melodic and harmonic paths, but, thanks in large part to the way the rhythm section dissects the beat, it's subtly reborn in three.
Headier sounds appear on the Jones-Jones penned "Haitian Cotillion," a number that's both insistent and open in its delivery. It's the first piece to really highlight this group's penchant for free thought married to rhythmic specificity. The follow-up"Soft Target"looks at the same topic from a different angle. It opens in uncertain lands, but the tenors soon find their footing(s) atop Wolleson's steady eighth note groove. They're free to roam around as his drums and Takeishi's rubbery bass lines hold things in place.
The second half of the album starts with Tony Jones' "Dear Toy"a sonic search for meaningand closes with three numbers from the leader's pen: "The Clapping Song," an odd-metered vehicle that opens on a Takeishi solo over handclaps before settling into the saddle; "Tag On A Train," a piece that coalesces, confounds, and then connects on a deep spiritual level; and "Manhattattan," a cheery sendoff with some surprising twists of form. It's the perfect ending to a program that's both unrestrained and structurally sound.
Track Listing
Moxie; In A Sentimental Mood; Haitian Cotillion; Soft Target; Dear Toy; Clapping Game; Tag On A Train; Manhattattan
Personnel
Jessica Jones
saxophoneJessica Jones: tenor saxophone; Tony Jones: tenor saxophone; Stomu Takeishi: bass; Kenny Wolleson: drums.
Album information
Title: Moxie | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: New Artists Records
Comments
About Jessica Jones
Instrument: Saxophone
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Moxie