Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Carlos Vega: Art of the Messenger

16

Carlos Vega: Art of the Messenger

By

View read count
Carlos Vega: Art of the Messenger
In case you didn't quite catch the "message" subtly embedded in the title of Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Carlos Vega's new recording, Art of the Messenger, here is a brief reminder that it was drummer Art Blakey who formed the Jazz Messengers in the mid-1950s and led the celebrated hard-bop ensemble until his death in 1990. The Messengers' roster of alumni reads like a Who's Who of Jazz Hall of Fame members.

With that in mind, Vega assembled a valorous quintet, molded in Blakey's combative image, to deliver its own powerful "message" via eleven of Vega's bop-centered compositions and arrangements. Those helping Vega spread the word are trumpeter Victor Garcia, pianist Stu Mindeman, bassist Joshua Ramos and drummer Xavier Breaker. Together they produce a reasonable facsimile of those seminal Messengers, albeit without the clear yet indefinable spark that set Blakey's storied combos above and apart from their contemporaries. A laudable endeavor, especially when one considers the enormous shoes they were summoned to fill.

One element that is lacking—even though Vega does the best he can—is the deft composer's touch of a Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Jackie McLean, Wayne Shorter, Chuck Mangione, Bobby Timmons, Cedar Walton, Brian Lynch, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Wallace Roney, Curtis Fuller or the Marsalis brothers, Wynton and Branford, to name only a handful of the Messengers' celebrated graduates. While Vega's themes are admirable, they can hardly be expected to approach the standard set by those acknowledged giants. He does, however, come close, especially on "Who Cooks for You," "Across the Ocean," "Art of the Messenger" and "Bird's Word," each of which would have been quite at home in the Messengers' expansive library.

The same holds true for improvisation. Vega, Garcia and the others—even Breaker, sitting in for the peerless Blakey himself—are good, at times considerably better than good but, even so, they are stalking the footsteps of some of the greatest bop musicians who ever lived. Still, one could readily envision Mindeman, for example, occupying the same chair once held by the likes of Silver, Timmons, Walton, Corea, Tyner, George Cables, Mulgrew Miller and other masters without having to bow his head or offer any apologies.

Even though a step or more removed from its predecessor's admitted supremacy, Art of the Messenger affords a pleasurable stroll down memory lane with several bright and engaging layovers along the way. Vega's heart is in the right place, a locale that Blakey surely would have endorsed.

Track Listing

Art of the Messenger; Bird's Word; Ode to the Patient Observer; Across the Ocean; Don't Forget to Ask; Something to Say; Oh; The Owl; Who Cooks for You; Heed the Call; Serenata for Bela.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Art of the Messenger | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Origin Records

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.