Category: Reviews

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Saxophonist Brandon Wright sells himself a little short with the title he selected for his sophomore release. While he has been honing his skills while working in the employ of artists like trombonist John Fedchock, E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and trumpet legend Doc Severinsen, he’s hardly an apprentice at this point. Wright’s debut—Boiling Point (Posi-Tone, 2010)—gave notice that a new and exciting saxophone slinger had entered the picture and Journeyman helps to confirm his status as one of the brightest, up-and-coming talents on the scene today.

On his first album, Wright went with a quintet that featured a two-horn front line. This gave him an opportunity to play off of, and react to, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, as both men carried the weight of the music together, but Wright goes it alone here. By choosing the quartet format, Wright draws greater attention to his own playing, while also establishing a stronger connection with the rhythm section.

The three men that fill out the roster are all connected to Wright through their mutual work in the Mingus Big Band. This helps in establishing a strong level of comfort and communication between all parties involved. Pianist David Kikoski is the only holdover from Boiling Point and he acts as a foil for Wright, while the bass-and-drums team of Boris Kozlov and Donald Edwardsprovides expert support. They lay the groove groundwork when the music calls for firm hands, but they also know how to take a step back and trace lines around the leader’s compositions.

Wright wrote six of the ten pieces on the album, including the driving opener (“Shapeshifter”) and a winning foray into funk (“Walk Of Shame”), and he fills out the rest of the program with some unusual covers. While a classy take on “The Nearness Of You” is par for this type of course, the inclusion of ’90s radio staples from Oasis (“Wonderwall”) and Pearl Jam (“Better Man”), along with a number from The Muppets Take Manhattan (Tri-Star Pictures, 1984), are not. Wright’s choice to include such songs has nothing to do with pandering to pop fans but, rather, everything to do with his identity and coming of age influences. He grew up with this material, but rather than simply spit these songs out in their original form; he molds them to suit his ideas. “Better Man” touches on the melody of the original in brief, allowing for Wright’s instrumental voice to eclipse any Eddie Vedder influence, and “He’ll Make Me Happy” provides a swinging conclusion to the album. “Wonderwall” proves to be more loyal to the original than the others, but it’s still a far cry from the source.

Journeyman isn’t about the act of apprenticing in music. It’s about the next step in the journey and Brandon Wright is more than ready for it.

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Beware of album titles that seem to damn with faint praise. Although saxophonist Brandon Wright takes inspiration for the title of his second album from the words of novelist Cormac McCarthy, Journeyman is a term that usually conjures up an image of a reliable, hard-working, solid but uninspiring type of person. All admirable qualities, of course, but hardly earth shattering or applicable to the playing talent of the New York based musician. It’s clear from Wright’s opening phrase on “Shapeshifter” that he’s much, much, more than a reliable worker.

Wright’s playing is strong, fluid and melodic from the start. His long, flowing tenor lines are a pleasure to hear. His debut, Boiling Point (Posi-Tone, 2010), featured trumpeter Alex Sipiaginalongside Wright. On Journeyman, Wright is out front on his own, but he shoulders the extra sonic responsibility with verve and confidence.

“Shapeshifter” establishes not only Wright’s chops, but also the strength of the rhythm section.Donald Edwards‘ driving percussion gives the entire quartet an energy and dynamism. Boris Kozlov‘s bass stays low in the mix but matches Edwards’ swing and power. Pianist David Kikoski—who also appears on Boiling Point—combines stabbing, rich, left-hand chords with intricate single note runs.

Wright’s original compositions are engaging. His description of “Walk Of Shame” as a “funky blues” sums it up neatly: straightforward, immediate and fun. “Illusions Of Light” shows that he can also write a soulful ballad—and deliver an equally soulful saxophone part—while the more aggressive hard bop of “Big Bully” finds Wright and Kikoski producing excellent up-tempo solos underpinned by Koslov and Edwards’ rock solid, driving rhythm.

Boiling Point featured Wright’s take on the Stone Temple Pilots’ rock classic “Interstate Love Song.” On Journeyman, he follows with interpretations of two other rock tunes. Oasis’ Brit Pop standard, “Wonderwall,” gets a swinging, straight-ahead treatment though the original song leant so much on the vocal that an instrumental version lacks a clear focus despite Wright’s tense, upper-register solo. Pearl Jam’s “Better Man,” written by Eddie Vedder, proves to be a more inspired choice. Wright takes the original’s slightly bitter tone and replaces it with a more regretful mood, established by Kikoski’s piano as well as his own tenor saxophone.

A lack of familiarity with McCarthy’s romanticized image might just make some fans wonder whether this album is worth exploring. That would be a mistake. Wright is an imaginative and hard-blowing saxophonist and a creative composer. This Journeyman inspires, and more.

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Journeyman is sax specialist Brandon Wright’s second time out as a leader and for this go around he brought some of his cohorts in the Mingus Big Band in the studio with him: David Kikoski on piano, Boris Kozlov on bass and Donald Edwards on drums. What these guys might lack in the big name draw of Wright’s first album Boiling Point (2010) they make up for in chemistry and tightness.

As before, though, Wright’s sax is the star attraction. An outsized tone that is classic tenor sax, approximating Coltrane via Kenny Garrett but with a little less vibrato. When the mood strikes him, he’s quite capable of Joe Henderson type trills and blasts. As part of the generation who grew up listening to Pearl Jam and Oasis, Wright builds a bridge for that listening audience to mainstream jazz with some crafty re-constructions. Eddie Vedder’s “Better Man” (YouTube below) is genteel and a noir sophistication in Wright’s hands, and he puts his heart into his expressions. He attaches a “Love Supreme” styled intro to Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and follows the vocal part on his horn close enough for anyone attached to the song to identify with it, even as there’s little else about this version that alludes to Oasis’ pop presentation.

Aside from these, an uptempo song from a Muppets movie, “She’ll Make Me Happy” and a straightforward interpretation of “The Nearness of You,” it’s all Wright’s songs, and here is where he’s shown the most noticeable growth. Already strong in that department, Wright pours a lot of soul into these tunes, which all have sharply defined moods. From the finger-snapping swing of “Shapeshifter” and “Big Bully” to the organic funk of “Walk of Shame” and the melancholy “Illusions Of Light” (with a splendid solo saxophone intro), Wright spins melodies that stick with you. The R&B element that often lurks in his soundprint comes to the fore on the somber “Search For Truth,” where Kikoski for this one time plays electric piano to get the complexion for the tune just right.

The title of this album reflects Wright’s realization that to get to the upper echelon of jazz musicians is “to work one day at a time.” It’s clear from his second album, he’s been putting in the work to get there. Journeyman is solid, straight-at-ya jazz from beginning to end, and the mark of a rising star.

Journeyman goes on sale May 15 by Posi-Tone Records.