Bringing together the colossal talents of pianist Brad Mehldau, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and guitarist Peter Bernstein with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Bill Stewart – MTB is the reconvening of a group of jazz greats from the Criss Cross label.
Way back in 1994, the trio got together with Grenadier and Leon Parker, whom Bill Stewart takes over from on the drum stool this time around – for a series of storied sessions that would go on to become the album Consenting Adults. That album wouldn’t see the light of day until much later, and now, 24 years on, we have a fine second instalment from this stellar lineup in the form of Solid Jackson.
Amid the track-list a number of interpretations of familiar compositions stand out. Wayne Shorter’s “Angola” is given a fiery rendition as Turner’s expressive and impactful playing coming to the fore, with Mehldau comping along brilliantly before Bernstein puts in a beautifully fluid solo.
Hank Mobley’s “Soft Impression” gets a languid and emotive treatment, while Harold Land’s Ode to Angela closes out the album. On the latter cut, Mehldau’s beautiful playing seems to directly reference the vibraphone work of Bobby Hutcherson on the 1971 original.
Of the original compositions within this eight-track set, the opening title track hits particularly hard with its propulsive rhythm section and some of Mehaldau’s most captivating playing across the record. The Bernstein-penned track “Things Fall Away” brings his own delicate and highly emotive guitar picking to the fore on what is one of the album’s most tender moments.
It would be easy to put less focus on Grenadier and Stewart as they’re not part of the MTB name, but that would do a disservice to this extraordinary rhythm section, which swings the tracks provides the backbone to the compositions. Take the latter part of “Angola” for example, which sees a Mehldau solo fly along over a backing of Grenadier’s resonant bass work and Stewart’s crisp drum patterns. The latter puts in his own blistering solo just before the culmination of the track.
When such notable musicians of the New York scene join forces for a session, particularly after such a long period of time that has of course seen them all follow their own separate trajectories, the level of expectation will always be great. With Solid Jackson, MTB delivers a set that lives up to that expectation and is bound to be on regular rotation for a huge number of jazz fans for a time to come.
