Frank Swart: This Is The One! (Raison D'êTre)

There is a common misconception that musical artists who release albums usually tour to promote them. While this may be true for the most part, there are exceptions. San Francisco-based bassist and composer Frank Swart is quick to point out that artists such as The Beatles were more focused on spending time in the studio creating albums than taking the show on the road. Swart's project Funkwrench Blues uses the studio to full effect, and this is evident on This Is The One! (Raison D'être).

Swart has spent years working with a diverse list of artists including Norah Jones, Gary Bartz, Mike Stern, Patty Griffin, Dave Liebman, Pixies and Lucky Peterson. This Is The One! seems to capture a little of the essence of many of the players Swart has encountered. Although definitely jazz, there are subtle influences from blues and soul, as well as from world music and soundtracks.

The album features Swart on bass, guitar and organ along with a wide-ranging group of performers, including Sean McDonald on guitar, Roland Barber on trumpet and trombone, David DR Robbins on saxophone and flute, Joe Dyson on drums, and many others. In a similar approach to much of Steely Dan's work, the focus here is on gathering the best musicians for the song rather than relying on a specific core group. By the way, This Is The One! does not sound like Steely Dan; this is uniquely Swart's sound. So what is the Funkwrench Blues sound? Possibly the best way to describe it is part James Brown funk, part big band, part blues, with a smattering of avant-garde weirdness à la Frank Zappa.

The album kicks off with "Possibilities," a tight, driving groove with punchy horns and impressive improvisations by McDonald on guitar, Barber on trumpet, and Robbins on saxophone. The seventies soul-funk feel comes through here loud and clear. The song "LTD" provides a similar feel, giving up a totally modern sound filtered through the lens of seventies funk. 

The album's sound is never totally uniform. While some tunes are straight-ahead funk, others present a different groove altogether. "Sammy's Bump," for example, feels like what would result from a big band hanging around an experimental jazz fusion band after they had all been listening to classic Miles Davis. "That's The Thing, Man" takes the experimental edge even further. In this case, the overall groove of the tune keeps the train from veering too far off the track when the going gets weird. 

While This Is The One! does have its experimental moments, it is a far cry from free jazz. Swart is a master of balance, delving into unfamiliar territory just long enough to be interesting. Throughout the recording, however, he keeps us grounded in familiar territory. "No Right," for example, offers a catchy, Latin-tinged vibe with just enough reverb to make it sound like a lost Fania recording, cool enough for all listeners. 

The album closes with "Precious And Impermanent," a piece that seems to encapsulate the entire album in a musical thesis statement. The song builds from an inviting, almost cinematic start to deconstructed explorations before resolving to familiar melodic territory by the end. With This Is The One! (Raison D'être), Funkwrench Blues uses the studio to full advantage, and the result is an album that feels less like a collection of songs than a carefully constructed musical statement.