Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Yellowjackets: Altered State

158

Yellowjackets: Altered State

By

View read count
Yellowjackets: Altered State
Sometimes the best move a band can make is to go indie. Consider Yellowjackets, who have been imbued with unquestionable instrumental credibility since emerging in the early '80s. Over their 25-year career Yellowjackets have veered from torch carriers of the latter-day, more structured incarnations of Weather Report to a group in dangerous proximity to smooth jazz territory. In the process of racking up nearly twenty recordings, the group's technical prowess has never been in question, but some of its choices in direction were more than a little suspect, especially during its middle period on the lightweight GRP label. Still, with a return to Warner Brothers in the mid-'90s, it seemed that the group was regaining its sense of focus and adventure.

But it ultimately took leaving the major labels behind to allow the band to go in a direction that would lean more towards an acoustic ambience, where the electronics are more subtly and better-integrated. With the release of the '02 live set Mint Jam, Yellowjackets began to assert their commitment to creating music that retained their accessibility while introducing a degree of challenge that would give them more edge. Featuring arguably their best lineup ever, with founding members Russell Ferrante on keyboards and the outstanding Jimmy Haslip on bass, Bob Mintzer on multiple woodwinds, and newcomer Marcus Baylor on drums, Yellowjackets went on to release '03's Time Squared, demonstrating that the leaner, meaner approach of Mint Jam was no fluke. It's also clear that Heads Up International, the label that picked Yellowjackets up on the merits of Mint Jam, is content to leave the group alone, and that's a wise move because rarely, if ever, have Yellowjackets sounded this good.

After a slight left turn with its Christmas album Peace Round, Yellowjackets are back with a new studio record. Altered State features more of the irregular meters and idiosyncratic yet singable themes that have made the last couple of discs so rewarding. From the Latin-inflected 5/4 Ferrante piece "Hunter's Point to "Mother Earth, a funky Haslip composition with a 16th-note figure that is reverential to the late Jaco Pastorius without sacrificing Haslip's own personality, the group doesn't break any new ground, instead consolidating and affirming its more recent direction.

As key as Ferrante and Haslip have been to Yellowjackets' sound since the beginning, the contribution that Mintzer has made since joining in '90 cannot be underestimated. A strong composer, arranger, and performer on all manner of reed instruments, Mintzer has broadened the group's palette considerably and helped move it in a more organic direction. And Baylor combines a strong groove sensibility with a light-and-loose touch that makes the odd-metered tunes dance.

"The Hope, featuring Baylor's wife Jean, is perhaps the group's only concession to radio play, but is rooted more in gospel and soul than smooth jazz. Which leaves the rest of Altered State—an album that will appeal to fans of the group's post-major label work, and well worth checking out by those who don't need their jazz to be 100% pure.

Visit Yellowjackets on the web.

Track Listing

Suite 15; March Majestic; The Hope; Hunter Point; Mother Earth; Youth Eternal; Free Day; Cross Current; Aha; 57 Chevy; Unity.

Personnel

Yellowjackets
band / ensemble / orchestra
Bob Mintzer
saxophone

Album information

Title: Altered State | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Heads Up International

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Yellowjackets Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.