Description
Just as his basslines never stay within the limits of the obvious, so Joe Sanders' life as a bassist, composer, band-leader and educator has never followed the single, most discernible pathway. A Midwest native, he's studied and played jazz on the opposite coasts of California and New York: a master of the acoustic bass, he's equally at home producing in the digital realm; embedded deep in the living tradition of American jazz; and living, teaching and creating in Europe. All these separate strands come together on his third headline release, Parallels.
The album presents a set of live recordings from a dream line-up that matches\u2028the leader's full-bodied acoustic bass presence with Seamus Blake, Logan\u2028Richardson and Gregory Hutchinson in performances that capture all the\u2028daring and drive of the East coast scene. Alongside them is a set of studio\u2028self-productions with guests Jure Pukl and Taylor Eigisti that capture the\u2028laid-back dreamy adventurousness of the West Coast. It's all filtered through\u2028Joe's uniquely quizzical, questing persona, which unifies all the elements into\u2028a thrillingly unpredictable whole, like parallel tracks that head towards the\u2028same destination.
\u2028Anticipation builds as 'dualities' opens the album. It showcases Joe's hand-\u2028picked team of front-rank players as they extend and expand his open-ended\u2028composition, with Richardson juggling fragments of melody over a ferociously\u2028intricate, constantly shifting dialogue between bass and drums. 'Logan has a\u2028special sound - being born and raised in Kansas City he just exudes that\u2028authentic blues feeling.' The eponymous 'Gran'ma' was written for the woman\u2028who introduced so much music to Joe as a child, and features a beautiful\u2028performance from Seamus Blake: "A truly unique saxophonist steeped in the\u2028tradition of tenor saxophone and an absolute monster. He and Logan are very\u2028different - very parallel." 'Next comes 'j'ai', a post-Ornette swinger featuring\u2028solos from Seamus and Greg Hutchinson - "I wanted to include a composition\u2028that swings as Greg and I have a super tight groove kinship - the feel we\u2028achieve together is so nice and bouncy."
\u2028Joe's young son features on melodica on 'la vie sur la terre' which captures\u2028the creative process unfolding before the listener - jazz seldom feels as\u2028intimate and direct as this. Next we're treated to a taste of Joe's studio vision.\u2028'Amalfi' continues with an Italo-disco inspired bassline, layers of keys and Jure\u2028Pukl's effortlessly cool tenor sax evoking a fantasy mash-up of the sun-kissed\u2028coasts of Italy and Southern California, whereas 'aligned' continues the theme\u2028with Joe stacking up layers of electronic texture as he plays in parallel on\u2028drums and acoustic bass: "It's supposed to be a vibe, going for the intent and\u2028the feeling, not the complexity of the structures." 'D.H.' is named for Derrick\u2028Hodge, fellow bassist and composer - "He embodies courage and\u2028perspectivism," and features Joe switching to bass guitar to construct a\u2028lowkey groove that builds up into a rippling piano solo from US maestro Taylor\u2028Eigsti. Interspersed are a trio of performances that put the bass up front:\u2028'orangeblue' blends parallel bass guitars and electronics, 'the rise and fall of\u2028pipokuhn' features a choir of multi-tracked bowed acoustics, and 'Parallels' is\u2028the pure sound of Joe playing solo, live and direct.
\u2028Parallels showcases the diversity of Joe Sanders' musicality, yet there's a\u2028unity of purpose and intent that makes a compelling whole. "I believe that\u2028records are a way to show where you are and show where you're going. All of\u2028this is a challenge for me to express the capability of something I've been\u2028learning, because that's what growth is all about. I feel really confident with\u2028this one because it's all of my music here: not just jazz, not just inside, not just\u2028outside - putting all the sides together in parallel."
