Julius Rodriguez: Evergreen

There are two faces of Julius Rodriguez and they are opposing rather than complementary. One face is the pop-jazz one presented by multi-instumentalist Rodriquez on his own albums. The other is the adventurous, strikingly singular modern-jazz face presented by pianist Rodriguez on other people's albums. It is possible to be wildly enthusiastic about the jazz face and lukewarm about the pop-jazz one, and, presumably, vice versa. But almost certainly not both.

Rodriquez has released two albums under his own name, Let Sound Tell All (Verve, 2022) and now Evergreen (Verve, 2024). Both are cut from the same cloth. Rodriguez plays piano, Hammond B3, Rhodes, synths, drums, electric bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar and clarinet, and does some of the programming. Track playing times average just under four minutes, allowing for minimal development or improvisation. Synths are ubiquitous, though not always foregrounded. Texture is all. There are guest musicians, though most of them get swallowed up in the churn. For the most part, the music is slick, slight and forgettable.

It gets worse. On Evergreen, there is, horror of horrors, a vocoder, a device which should be banned under international humanitarian law as cruel and unusual punishment. On Evergreen, there is also a producer, Tim Anderson, who appears to have no previous experience with jazz, nor aptitude for it, and has made his name, and presumably some sort of fortune, good luck to him, producing singer songwriters such as Billie Ellish, Christina Aguilera and Solange Knowles. He has composed for film and television, including the unforgettable series Suits.

Then there is the second face of Rodriguez, that of a sidesperson. His most recent incarnation is as the pianist on alto saxophonist and composer Nicole McCabe's Mosaic (Ghost Note, 2024) (reviewed here). Rodriquez's contribution to the album's success is considerable and, at times, he comes close to stealing the show (close, but no cigar). McCabe repays the favour by guesting on two tracks on Evergreen.

One day, if we are lucky, Rodriguez will forget the pop-jazz, make a jazz album and blow us all away.

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