Emmet Cohen: Uptown In Orbit

Pianist/composer/educator/impresario Emmet Cohen has proven himself time and time again to be one of the guiding lights of 21st century jazz. And he may have/could have single-handedly saved our collective sanity and jazz's continued rise and relevance when, in the face of a world plague, he began streaming Live From Emmet's Place from his apartment in Harlem. First it was Cohen and his trusty trio mates, bassist Russell Hall and drummer Kyle Poole. Then the sessions expanded to include such wondrous world talents as Veronica Swift, Cyrille Aimée, Joy F. Brown, Joe Lovano, and Buster Williams; and, the list goes on and on. Add to that his Masters Legacy recordings with George Coleman, Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Albert Tootie Heath and Benny Golson, and you have the template of a talent determined keep the music deep and real.

Which Uptown in Orbit, without any doubt, does. Following his adventures in stride on his Mack Avenue debut Future Stride (2021) Cohen doubles down and celebrates not only tradition, while producer Poole utilizes an old school tape machine for Willie Smith's "Finger Buster" and the performance breaks from the gate with an exuberance that is hard to match. All this may aid and abet the survival of those we love, of those we trust, of the music and the muse itself. "Uptown in Orbit," itself an invigorating nod to Duke Ellington's Blues In Orbit (Columbia, 1960) hurls itself like a thunderstorm as guest saxophonist Patrick Bartley howls gleefully after fellow guest, trumpeter Sean Jones' soaring glissandos.

It only gets better from there as Uptown in Orbitblossoms into a year end best of the best. Recorded at Sear Sound in midtown, the album equally serves as a vessel for new energy from all involved, as well Cohen's dedication to the past. "My Love Will Come Again," a tender Cohen original with a playfully somber Jones highlight reel solo, could elicit a scrambling through the back catalogues of many of the great songwriters to see who wrote these gems. The tune moves with its own nostalgic energy yet never looks back. The pianist's wickedly delightful stride/pop "Spillin' the Tea" can light up a day. Hall and Poole, always limber and nimble, are particularly so on this one. Hall's "The Loneliest" is a sly, late night blues with Bartley and Jones languidly slipping and sliding along.

The brief "Uptown in Orbit (Reprise)" might strike some as a self congratulatory pat-on-the-back, but let us chalk that up to youthful impetuousness and move on to the three rousing covers that take Uptown in Orbit home. Cedar Walton's jumping "Mosaic" blows in at a percolating pace setting the stage for a swinging revival of "Venus de Milo" by Gerry Mulligan and a robust investigation of Ellington's "Braggin' In Brass," finds Cohen ranging across his piano like a man possessed. Great stuff.

Comments