Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jason Robinson: Ancestral Numbers II

7

Jason Robinson: Ancestral Numbers II

By

View read count
Jason Robinson: Ancestral Numbers II
Jason Robinson's Ancestral Numbers is "a sound meditation on genealogy and family history" and will comprise an "ongoing series of compositions for varying instrumentation." "I" and "II" are merely the starting point for an intimate investigation into the depths of the saxophonist's family tree, set in motion shortly after the passing of Robinson's grandmother. Accompanying the saxophonist/composer on this personal endeavour is a cast of top-drawer players, including Drew Gress on bass, Michael Dessen on trombone, pianist Joshua White and Ches Smith on drums.

The idiomatically wide-reaching juxtaposition of angular groove pieces and free explorations of form and sound, which made the first volume so appealing, is not quite as apparent on the second collection of tunes (both volumes are pulled from the same session in August 2023), yet what this volume might lack in free-form chamber aesthetics it more than makes up for with fiery playing, catchy heads and an overall sense of a tight-knit collective.

"Sweet Tooth" opens the set with the type of small ensemble flair that evokes the swinging drive of Art Blakey's Messengers on the one hand and the arrangement landscapes of Duke Ellington's Orchestra on the other. A hungry head start segues into Joshua White's freewheeling piano escapades, after which Robinson picks things up cooking. It all screams bebop and hard bop, virtuously executed with speed and a sense of elegance. After an extended drum solo intro, "The Return" continues in lively fashion but with an oblique twist, owing to the deconstructed nature of the beat, a candid trombone solo and an infectiously groovy bass line that proves as melodious as anything in this track.

Keen balladry turns "Ruby" into a laidback mood piece that puts the spotlight on Robinson's tasteful saxophone tone, "Deployment" is another hot swinger with a deconstructed break in the middle, while "Arrival" gives Robinson the opportunity to flex his flute abilities in an extensive way. Here, the avant-garde notion of the first volume returns, imbuing the session with a free-flowing spiritual connotation as the players explore the textural qualities of their respective instruments.

It is with this far-reaching framework of idiomatic implications and compositional approaches that Robinson and his band draw the listener in, hinting at this music's rich past—with an emphasis on the '60s—while propelling it into the ever-unpredictable present. In a way, the group thereby mirrors the project's driving theme by unfurling the music's own genealogical history.

Track Listing

Sweet Tooth; The Return; Ruby; Enos; Deployment; Arrival; Grayscale; Ancestral Numbers.

Personnel

Jason Robinson
saxophone, tenor
Michael Dessen
trombone

Album information

Title: Ancestral Numbers II | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Playscape Recordings

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




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.