Lafayette Gilchrist & New Volcanoes: Move With Love

There is no escaping one's formative years when music—and much else—leaves an indelible mark, like a tattoo on the soul. For Lafayette Gilchrist, the jazz, hip-hop, funk and soul he imbibed growing up in Washington D.C. has been at the heart of New Volcanoes since its launch in 1993. In the intervening years, Baltimore-based Lafayette has slipped back and forth between New Volcanoes, solo piano and contemporary jazz ensembles of various sizes. Originally a sleek quartet, New Volcanoes' personnel and instrumentation has evolved over the years, with horns, guitar and percussion swelling the ranks. Regardless of formation, the group's allegiance to danceable rhythms has never wavered.

Move With Love—New Volcanoes' third live recording—captures the band in peak form at Baltimore's The Club Car in September 2024. Rhythm is top of the agenda, with in-the-pocket-grooves from drummer Kevin Pinder and bassist Anthony "Blue" Jenkins and the percolating percussion of Bashi Rose laying the groove foundations. Trumpeter Leo Maxey, trombonist Christian Hizon and tenor saxophonist Shaquim Muldrow deal in tight melodic unison lines and punchy riffs. Gilchrist, on electric keys, and veteran guitarist Carl Filipiak also invest heavily in the rhythmic churn. Even the solos, of which there are no shortage, seem infected by the booty shaking currents.

The octet sets the tone on "Cut Through The Chase," where layers of cantering rhythms carry keen trombone, guitar and keys solos. The recipe is repeated on "Move With Love," Filipiak's chugging rhythms à la Bo Diddley giving way to a sinewy solo over rippling percussion. If the stars of Fela Kuti and Carlos Santana had ever crossed, it might have sounded like this. An already rich sound is enhanced when saxophonists Ebban Dorsey (alto) and Efraim Dorsey (tenor) join the ensemble for several numbers. In just a few short years the Dorsey sibling—both in their early 20s—have shared stages with Gary Bartz, Kamasi Washington, Kenny Garrett and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and seem set for great things.

The slower grooves of "Bamboozled" and "Basta" engender feel-good vibes of a sultrier nature, but even at a slower lick the ensemble's jam-like rhythmic repetitions sink their claws deep. Hizon and Gilchrist are to the fore on "Baby Steps," the trombonist's soulful warmth contrasting with the leader's dappled impressionism. Maxey's burnished solo crowns "Cross Pollination Aggregation," which may—or may not—owe a debt to Bill Wither's 1971 hit "Grandma's Hands."

In a world gone to hell in a bucket, local venues like Club Car are more important than ever. On one level, they serve as incubators for the sort of musical sparks that birthed D.C.'s and Baltimore's go-go rhythms. On another, perhaps more fundamental level, they are bastions of social cohesion and inclusion. Lafayette Gilchrist knows this. To that end, New Volcanoes' infectious vibes feel like a manifesto, providing uplift and serving as a reminder of music's power to bind communities. Move with love indeed.