Joel Ross: The Parable Of The Poet

The story of jazz is part musical and part social, the two strands interacting to shape, on one hand, the sound we hear and, on the other, the demographic who make it and constitute its audience. Viewed from London, the semiology surrounding New York-based vibraphonist Joel Ross' octet, heard on his third Blue Note album, The Parable Of The Poet, tells a social story as much as it does a musical one.

The octet's optics (check the YouTube film below) are strikingly similar to those of the alternative jazz scene which has emerged in London since around 2017. The musicians are drawn from both sexes and a variety of ethnicities. Moreover, their appearance and body language chime strongly with those of the same generation of London musicians, and from this it is possible to make an informed guess as to their sociopolitical beliefs. If all this is an accurate reading, then the prospects for American jazz have rarely been better. Since 2017 the London jazz world has been transformed and the music has become an international success. America, it seems, may not be far behind.

Certainly, if The Parable Of The Poet is indicative, the tea leaves suggest a rosy future. Musically and socially, the album resonates with that of another young New Yorker's spring 2022 Blue Note outing, pianist Gerald Clayton's Bells On Sand. A movement of like-minded musicians appears to be on the ascendancy. Bring it on.

The Parable Of The Poet is a suite, sumptuously lyrical and for the most part peaceful and prayerful. It is also a collective endeavour (another close match with the new London jazz), in that while Ross wrote all the material, his light-touch arranging is designed to encourage in-the-moment individual and group contributions from the band. And what a band: alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, tenor saxophonist Maria Grand, trumpeter Marquis Hill, trombonist Kalia Vandever, pianist Sean Mason, bassist Rick Rosato, drummer Craig Weinrib and guest flautist Gabrielle Garo.

The music is solace for the soul. Ditto the octet's vibe.