By conditioning, I don’t believe girls can play or maybe shouldn’t play saxophones. They are best left to playing flutes and clarinets. And if by chance they play Alto or Bass Clarinets, maybe even bassoons, that is as close as they should get to the “saxophone”.
I promised myself I would spend the year seeking out new jazz artists attempting to push the envelope and keeping the flame - you know preserving the art. I have done a piss poor job because I find myself locked into my likes. Not that my heroes aren’t still producing forward thinking music but that is what is expected of them, being my heroes and all. But I have been less inspired by some of the “new” music by less proven artists being released.
Recently, I ran across a very mild mannered request from an artist, on a website that I frequent, to listen to her record. The request wasn’t directed at me specifically but when I realized it was a jazz recording, I felt it my duty to give it a listen. And WOW, I like this record!
Introducing, MEILANA GILLARD and her debut record entitled, DAY ONE on Innercircle Music. The label is the brainchild of master saxophone player, composer, educator Greg Osby - another hero of mine.
After trading a few emails with Meilana, she sent me the download of her record. After I downloaded it, I intended to begin my first listening while I was doing other things. It proved to be an impossible task as I was immediately interested from the downbeat of the first song. As I stated earlier, I was conditioned to believe girls can’t/shouldn't play saxophone. I had preconceived notions that this might be some candy shop or Candy Dulfer type jazz recording. The reason I couldn’t stop listening intently is because all my preconceived notions were most immediately eradicated.
The group consists of Gillard on Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute; Nir Felder: Guitar; Sam Barsh: Fender Rhodes, Nord & Korg keyboards; Marcos Varela: Bass; and Tyshawn Sorey: Drums. By virtue of the use of Fenders, Nords and Korgs it is apparent that this would be a different type of recording. The use of the electronic instrumentation gives the record a phenomenal sound. The songwriting and arrangements fit this personnel extremely well. Knowing that Gillard penned every song except one makes her play that much more interesting. The only thing that concerned me was some of the tempo/feel changes. It sometimes feels a bit rushed. But this is my own bias. I am not a fan of that particular effect in most recordings.
Gillard’s improv skills seem to be more learned than natural. By no means would I suggest that this is a bad thing. In fact, I believe that it was probably just a case of the “I wanna do this right on the debut record” jitters. Because in the end, she sounds really good.
I judge all saxophone players abilities by how they handle ballads. Ballads expose you like nothing else. The ballads “SEMISWEET” (please follow the link to the hip hop remix of semisweet...it too is quite funky)and “A SPIRIT REMEMBERED” are handled with great dexterity and feeling. The fact that she exposed herself by playing the first 12 or so bars of the latter sans accompaniment, proves she’s confident in her ability and rightfully so.
Drummer Sorey is a groove machine. His ability swing inside his grooves were masterful. Felder, Barsh, and Varela hold the ensemble together quite nicely. Their dedication to the melodies and to the grooves made the lead work that much more interesting. They always played with each other and never seemed out of sorts.
This record mostly reminded me of the hybrid jazz-funk fusion of the late 60s and 70s by bands like CATALYST. Or even more recent funk offerings by CHRISTIAN McBRIDE and his work with THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT. However, it’s not quite as avant garde so it will be a more palatable for music listeners who don’t enjoy the challenge of more free form jazz.
I like Meilana Gillard’s music and this band. I think DAY ONE is just the start of many more days to come.
