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Wellstone Conspiracy

Four of the Northwest's finest jazz artists reunite on "Motives" for a wide-ranging, adventurous recording of orignal works, including a free-wheeling tribute to drummer Ed Blackwell, and melodic pieces flavored by the modern harmonies of Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. The disc closes with an impressionistic cover of Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing." Wellstone Conspiracy features Seattleites Bill Anschell on piano, Jeff Johnson on bass, and John Bishop on drums, joined by Idaho-based saxophonist Brent Jensen. The four musicians continue to refine the collective artistry displayed on their 2006 debut CD, "One More Mile" (under Brent Jensen's name), a cohesive group sound that All About Jazz reviewer John Barron described as: "...lively, inventive and beckons for repeated listening."

Wellstone Conspiracy: Motives

Read "Motives" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
April 22, 2010

This ensemble might have been labeled the Brent Jensen Quartet. They recorded One More Mile under the Idaho-based saxophonist's name. For their album Motives, however, they are calling themselves the Wellstone Conspiracy as they delve deeper into a melodic music that is steeped in the modern harmonic concepts of Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

The set opens with Jeff Johnson's grainy, guitar-like bass lines on the Jensen-penned “Bye Bye Blackwell." The late Ed Blackwell was, perhaps most famously, Ornette Coleman's ...

“...a great rapport these artists have developed over the years...their lines merge and unwind with endless invention.” -JazzTimes