Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » New Directions: New Directions

180

New Directions: New Directions

New Directions: New Directions
The New Groove. New Directions was the promotional brainchild of Blue Note Records president Bruce Lundvall. Lundvall, in an effort to further promote an already well established collaborative spirit among the Blue Note stablemates, asked alto saxophonist Greg Osby to pull together a group of the younger players signed to the label rooster. The plan was to assemble several notable players, have them work up new performances of the Blue Note Canon. They would then take the show on the road and finally return to the studio and record under the watchful eye of Rudy Van Gelder (many of the songs being originally recorded by Van Gelder 40 years ago). The resulting band, in addition to Osby, was pianist, Jason Moran, Tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Rounding out the rhythm section was Tarus Mateen on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums.

New Directions is the fruit of this ambitious endeavor. The recording is as well-conceived and promoted as the original concept. The arrangements are novel, especially Lee Morgan’s “The Sidewinder” and Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father”. Other standards include Hank Mobley’s “No Room for Squares”, featuring Stefon Harris in a spirited vibes solo and Nasheet Waits’ shimmering cymbal work. Of all of the players, it is Greg Osby providing the most orderly and well structured solos. Moran and Harris swing academically. Mark Shim plays like a force of nature. The precocious tenorist gushes angular ideas and attacks resulting in an explosion of melody and free lyricism that are like a breath of fresh air. Shim is an unlikely solution of one part Wayne Shorter, two parts Hank Mobley; three parts Sonny Rollins with a drop of David Murray.

New Directions is a more successful effort than was George Wein’s The Jazz Futures (Novus 63158, 1993) that exploited the young lions of the late 1980s. New Directions is more authentic and a fine reading well worth hearing. Any fan of the four principals will be more than satisfied. Otherwise buy this for Mark Shim.

Track Listing

Theme from Blow Up; The Sidewinder; Ping Pong; Beatrice; No Room for Squares; Song for My Father; Tom Thumb;. Commentary on Electrical Switches; Big Bertha; Recorda Me; Song of the Whispering Banshee; False Start;20 Questions. (Total Time: 65:34)

Personnel

Greg Osby, Alto Sax; Mark Shim, Tenor Sax; Stefon Harris, Vibes; Jason Moran, Piano; Tarus Mateen, Bass; Nasheet Waits, Drums

Album information

Title: New Directions | Year Released: 2000

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.