The term “Red List” is a term used for indicating animals that are considered endangered, with the title used by woodwind master Brian Landrus to use the music on this album as a conversation starter for discussing causes, effects and awareness of the delicate balance of earth. He brings together a mix and match team of Corey King/voc, Geoffrey Keezer/key< Jaleel Shaw/as, John Hadfield/perc, Lonnie Plaxico/b, Nir Felder/g, Ron Blake/ts, RudyRoyston/dr, Ryan Keberle/tb and Steve Roach/tp-fh to bring attention to animals as diverse as the music, including the Vaquita, Snow Leopard, Java Rhino, Mariana Dova and Leatherback.
Felder’s electric guitar leads into a tropical “Congo Basin” that veatures Keberle’s rich trombone, while there’s a reggae pulse under Kings’ rich voice on the rich “Leatherbacks”. Landrus gives a rich bass clarinet to the trudging “Save The Elephants” and his baritone is impassioned on the vignette of “Mariana Dove” while taking part in the deep reeds of the galloping juggernaut of “The Red List”. Roach floats with the leader’s flute on “Noctural Flight” while woodwinds and voice agonize on the subtones of “Bwindi Forest”, as the songs try to either evoke the sounds of the environment or the animals themselves. An ambitious piece of music, and it serves as a good conversation starter as to whether man can be audacious enough think he can destroy God’s planet.