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Rahsaan Barber: Six Words
by Jack Bowers
The Six Words that epitomize woodwind artist Rahsaan Barber's fifth recording as a leader came to him via trumpeter Wynton Marsalis: “There is power in this music." And as Barber affirms on this tasteful studio date, aside from power there is depth and refinement as well. Barber commands a tight-knit sextet, so much so that it is hard to believe that most of them had never played together before gathering in Nashville, Tennessee in December 2020 to record ...
Continue ReadingRahsaan Barber: Six Words
by Chris May
Six Words is saxophonist Rahsaan Barber's fourth album on his Nashville-based label Jazz Music City, and the first to be conceived as a suite. The titular six words are something Wynton Marsalis said in a conversation with Barber: “There is power in this music." With that thought in mind, Barber composed a series of pieces focused on protest, personal liberation and love, and on the penultimate track, grief, in a tender elegy for Roy Hargrove, “Remembering Roy." ...
Continue ReadingPharez Whitted: For The People
by Ian Patterson
Saxophonist Pharez Whitted has had an unusual recording career. Fourteen years separated Mysterious Cargo (Motown Records, 1996) from Transient Journey (Owl Studios, 2010), as Whitted dedicated himself to jazz education and sideman appearances with the likes of drummer Elvin Jones, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and pianist Ramsey Lewis. In this context, For the People comes after a relatively short interval. With the same top drawer Chicago musicians as on Transient Journey, Whitted leads the sextet through originals mostly rooted in the ...
Continue ReadingPharez Whitted: For The People
by Dan Bilawsky
Indianapolis-born trumpeter Pharez Whitted has kept a low profile in the new millennium. He's busied himself with teaching, attending to his duties as Director of Jazz Studies at Chicago State University, performing live and appearing as a sideman on a scant number of under-the-radar albums, but none of this has helped to boost his reputation beyond his Midwestern home base. His fourteen year silence between Mysterious Cargo (Motown, 1996) and Transient Journey (Owl, 2010) didn't help matters in the visibility ...
Continue ReadingPharez Whitted: Transient Journey
by Mark F. Turner
The intimidating yet dapper looking man on the cover plays his horn in the same striking manner of his appearance. Chicago trumpeter Pharez Whitted as they might say on the street, “Ain't No Joke" as witnessed by his serious musicianship-- chops that are emotive, filled with technique and touch, and soulful swagger. It's hard to believe that Transient Journey is only his third release as a leader. A musician, band leader, and educator currently serving as Director ...
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