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Jon Irabagon's Outright!: Recharge the Blade

By Mark Corroto
February 15, 2024
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As with nearly all of saxophonist Jon Irabagon's music, the matter for debate is whether the listener needs to be as caffeinated as the musician. His brand of performance, going back two decades, has been one of constant motion and a bottomless cup of ideas. We heard this in Irabagon's contribution to the band Mostly Other People Do The Killing, his I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues series, and his collaboration with Joe Fonda in Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor. With Recharge The Blade, Irabagon completes his Outright! trilogy which he began with his Ouright!, as the first disc in the set, and his first outing on Innova Recordings in 2008. He followed it up with Unhinged (Irabbagast Records, 2012).

The lineup has changed, Irabagon's core quintet now includes the double espresso sounds of trombonist Ray Anderson, keyboardist Matt Mitchell, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Dan Weiss. Unhinged is presented in two suites, the nine-track "Recharge Blade Suite" and the extended lineup three-track "War Trilogy."

The brief (1:50) opening "Kilgrave Part 1" finds whispering and popping soprano saxophone and trombone growl tracking Mitchell's pointed piano poetry. Next, we are off with "Blood Eagle" an accelerated New Orleans woven funk track and "Recharge The Blade" which also trades in the creole sound, taken at a sprinting pace. Irabagon leaves plenty of space for his band to express themselves here, weaving their sounds around his soprano saxophone. The "War Trilogy" shifts a bit with Ben Monder adding chilling guitar phenomena to "Quorum Call" plus Lightcap and Mitchell swapping acoustic for electric instruments. Irabagon covers the standard "We'll Meet Again" in a duet with Mitchell. Then there is The Trans-Atlantic Luxury Cruise Line Cigar Lounge All-Stars, a nearly sixty-member orchestral smooth jazz performance of "Welcome Parade." Sure, it is wacky, it is weird. It is the world of Jon Irabagon.

Track Listing

Kilgrave Part 1; Blood Eagle; Keelhauling; Nightshade; Kilgrave Part 2; Recharge the Blade; Trés Bechet; Tsar; Kilgrave Part 3; Quorum Call; We'll Meet Again; Welcome Parade.

Personnel

Jon Irabagon

saxophone

Ray Anderson

trombone

Matt Mitchell

piano

Chris Lightcap

bass

Dan Weiss

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Matt Mitchell: Fender Rhodes, Moog Model D; Ben Monder – guitar; Chris Cash: drums, bass, guitars, programming; The Trans-Atlantic Luxury Cruise Line Cigar Lounge All-Stars: Rodrigo Ursaia: flute; Morgan Price: alto flute; Peter Hess: Eb clarinet; Jason Gillenwater: clarinet; Massimo Magee: clarinet; Christof Knoche: bass clarinet; Sean Sonderegger: contrabass clarinet; Per Gárdin : alto saxophone; Matthew Muñeses: alto saxophone; Will Vinson: alto saxophone; Brad Linde: C melody saxophone; Tom Christensen: tenor saxophone; Alban Darche: tenor saxophone: tenor saxophone; Sven Decker: tenor saxophone: tenor saxophone: tenor saxophone; Christoph Irniger: tenor saxophone; Jonathan Moritz: tenor saxophone; Dan Nicholson: tenor saxophone; Matthew “Narducci” Silberman: tenor saxophone; Mik Templeton: tenor saxophone; The Saxophone Warrior: saxophone, electronics; Brad Hubbard: baritone saxophone; Steven Salcedo: baritone saxophone; Kyle Saulnier: baritone saxophone; Stefan Zeniuk: bass saxophone; Chad McCullough: trumpet; Nadja Noordhuis: trumpet; Jumaane Smith: trumpet; Ryan Keberle: trombone; Luke Malewicz: trombone; Kevin Schoenbach: trombone; Max Seigel: bass trombone; Joe Exley: tuba; Juanma Trujillo: ukelele, toy recorder; Andrew Hendryx: mandolin; Brandon Coleman: guitar; Scott Fields: guitar; Akira Ishiguro: guitar; Jesse Lewis: guitar; Anthony Pirog: guitar; Álvaro Domene: seven string electric guitar, live electronics; Julien Labro: accordion; David Ecker: piano; Lilah Martz: piano; Dred Scott: piano; Jim Sellers: piano; Joan Hammel: piano, percussion; Noah Baerman: organ; Jozef Dumoulin: keyboards; Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello; Shawn Conley: double bass; Richard Lloyd Giddens, Jr.: double bass; Jeff Schwartz: double bass; Ernesto Cervini: drums; Joe Hertenstein: drums; Mike Pride: auxiliary percussion; Colin Hinton: percussion; Bernd Ihno Eilts: voice; Oscar “The Dog” Peterson: dog howls; Matt Wilson: water; SpacePants: The TUBE.

Album information

Title: Recharge the Blade | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Irabbagast Records

About Jon Irabagon

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