Melissa Aldana: Echoes Of The Inner Prophet

Grammy-nominated saxophonist Melissa Aldana was all of maybe 21 going on 22 in 2010 when her Inner Circle Records arrival, Free Fall, caught many a discerning ear with its surprisingly earthy and assured lines and tangents. Her first for Blue Note, 2022's 12 Stars, displayed much the same but with a more resolute, restorative, established tone.

As exhibited on such artistic statements as 12 Stars and 2019's Visions (Motema Music), Aldana relishes her sojourns and residencies in the inner world. Echoes Of The Inner Prophet is the next chapter in the journey. But it is not just a step or a stride but a leap. Amorphous, calligraphic, and bursting with ideas that are given breadth to blend and clash, color and collaborate, music like the luxurious, collective narrative "A Story" comes into clear, clean view. Taking its drive and tempo shifts from the concentrated yet open-ended interplay of pianist Fabian Almazan and guitarist/co-producer/arranger Lage Lund (with whom Aldana enjoys an especially keen symbiosis) her tenor vibes and calls bask in joy interspersed with a common sadness.

But before that and before the tightly woven leadoff single "The Solitary Seeker," Echoes Of The Inner Prophet breaks to the surface with its title track rippling like breezes across a still lake. As if summoning Wayne Shorter, who was one of the judges (along with Branford Marsalis and Jane Ira Bloom) who awarded Aldana first prize in the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, Aldana's true proven tenor vibes sound warm and decisive amid Almazan and Lund's electronics, drummer Kush Abadey's concerted participation and bassist Pablo Menares' nimble reverberations.

Aldana's "Unconscious Whispers" follows. It is a five-way conversation where everyone is heard and no one's voice is turned away or interrupted. Sure, Almazan and Abadey mix up the dance steps here and there, but that by no means interrupts or sidetracks Lund, Menares, and Aldana, who find their footing and hold the center. The saxophonist's sound, rich and radiant, equal parts Sonny Rollins, Shorter, and the soulful party blues of Cannonball Adderley's alto, grows more and more familiar, distinct and, much more importantly, her own. It is rigorous but not without smudges and blurs of composition and style, "A Purpose," with its punchy, kinetic grace; "Cone of Silence," its closing time melodics falling fondly upon the ear; and Lund's quirky, reminiscent-of-something-you-may-have-heard-before closer "I Know You Know" make Echoes Of The Inner Prophet a sure-fire best of '24 contender. Listen closely.