Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Scott Colley: Initial Wisdom

Scott Colley: Initial Wisdom

By Mark Corroto
May 1, 2002
View read count

Bassist Scott Colley steps into the big leagues with his first release for the adventuresome Palmetto Records label. Colley has been a leader of recording sessions in the past, his The Magic Line (Arabesque 2000) and Subliminal... (Criss Cross 1997) garnered critical press for the thirty-eight year-old musician and he has been part of several important recent sessions. Of note is his playing on Andrew Hill's Dusk (Palmetto), Greg Osby's Symbols Of Light (A Solution) (Blue Note), Brad Shepik's Short Trip (Knitting Factory), and Old School (MA) with Peter Epstein and Peter Erskine. He has also been a sideman to guitarist Jim Hall, pianist Jimmy Rowles, and singer Carmen McRae.

Initial Wisdom is a series of trio and quartet tracks with Bill Stewart who is Colley's drummer of choice from his other sessions, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, and guitarist Adam Rogers. This combination of players absolutely gels throughout. Rogers, a member of the jazz/rock/hip-hop band Lost Tribe, and recently singer Norah Jones, add a rocked-out gusto here. Not that Bill Stewart, a veteran of John Scofield's bands, is unfamiliar with loud jazz. His shuffle beat on "Rubber Clock" kicks off a jam sound favored in rock circles. Colley mixes things nicely here. Tempering the electric guitar with splashes of Rogers' acoustic action. Colley thumps through the funk on "The Susser" an obvious nod to the Brooklyn sounds of his former employer Greg Osby.

Colley exhibits the influence his instructor/idol Charlie Haden has over his playing by covering Ornette Coleman's "Alpha." The trio announces they are playing something else! with the aggressive tenor attack poised by Ravi Coltrane as Colley drives both Stewart and Coltrane onward. For the graybeards, this is the highlight of the recording. The band doesn't just cover Ornette they rekindle the Coleman revolution. Coltrane's horn playing has sounded cautious in the past, here he works both the soprano and tenor to great effect. His tenor sound is getting rounder and broader with age.

Colley penned six of the nine tracks heard here. Besides the modern sound he can move inside shifting moods pleasurably as on "Scorpios" and venture outward on the eerie "Trip," where Rogers showcases varied guitar effects.

This is a stellar effort from a nearly perfect combination of modern players. It bears repeated listening.

Track Listing

The Susser Scorpios Far Rockaway Alpha Trip Trouble In Paradise Barracudas Eccentric Circles Rubber Clock

Personnel

Scott Colley

bass

Ravi Coltrane: tenor & soprano sax - Adam Rogers: guitars - Scott Colley: acoustic bass - Bill Stewart: drums

Album information

Title: Initial Wisdom | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Palmetto Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Trois Plans Sur La Comete
< Previous

Branford & Ellis Marsalis: The Dawn ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

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.