James Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor – Live in Willisau (Live) (2020) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]

James Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor – Live in Willisau (Live) (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:06:16 minutes | 793 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Intakt Records

Somewhat forgotten amidst the excitement surrounding James Brandon Lewis’ UnRuly Manifesto (Relative Pitch, 2019) was the excellent release that preceded it. Radiant Imprints (Off, 2018), a duo release with drummer Chad Taylor, put the focus squarely on Lewis’ extraordinary tenor saxophone prowess and his strong accord with one of the most in-demand drummers in creative jazz. If it didn’t have quite the stylistic eclecticism of its successor, it was nevertheless a stimulating release that showed Lewis could more than hold his own on what is one of the most demanding formats for a saxophonist.

Further proof that the Lewis / Taylor partnership is one of the most exciting matchups in contemporary jazz is found on Live in Willisau, a substantial document that manages to go well beyond Radiant Imprints, both in its dynamic energy and in its pan- idiomatic sweep. The magic of the album is due in no small part to its being a live recording. Not only is the audience clearly enjoying itself but Lewis too seems thrilled to be taking part, noting at one point in his remarks to the crowd that he “got emotional” when thinking about the legendary performances that have taken place at Willisau over the years. One of those concerts from 1980 featuring Dewey Redman and Ed Blackwell, Red and Black in Willisau (Black Saint, 1985), is explicitly invoked here with Redman’s “Willisee.” Lewis is drawing not only from that inspired pairing, but also the John Coltrane / Rashied Ali relationship that produced the landmark Interstellar Space (Impulse, 1974), as three pieces here make clear. “Twenty Four” offers explicit re-workings of Coltrane’s themes from “Giant Steps” and “26-2” and “Radiance” grapples with “Seraphic Light,” while “Imprints” makes oblique reference to Coltrane’s “Impressions.”

Tracklist

01. Twenty Four (James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor ) 8:34
02. Radiance (Seraphic Light | John Coltrane/James Brandon Lewis/
Chad Taylor) 7:01
03. Matape (Chad Taylor) 10:32
04. Come Sunday (Duke Ellington) 3:44
05. Imprints (James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor) 8:42
06. Watakushi No Sekai (Mal Waldron) 7:05
07. With Sorrow Lonnie (James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor) 6:34
08. Willisee (Dewey Redman) 6:21
09. Under/Over the Rainbow (James Brandon Lewis | Harold Arlen) 7:43

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