At this stage in his career, Jamison Ross showed the packed Blue Whale that he is faced with a problem many dream of. While he won the 2012 Thelonious Monk Award from his drum skills, as he demonstrated Saturday night with his quintet, he could very well become the next Nat “King” Cole, as he featured his soulful voice into his sleek compositions to easily cause him to crossover into becoming a major pop or R&B star.
With his in sync team of Barry Stephenson/b, Rick Lollar/g, Cory Irvin/B3 and Chris Pattishall/p, Ross let the audience know that he could satisfy both the jazz heads and soul trainers, as the team hit hard with Ross’ sticks leading the stampede on the hard hitting instrumental “Set Us Free” that combined a tasty mix of soul groove and rollicking accents. Besides that, as the leader put it, “We may be in LA, but we’re gonna feel like it’s Mississippi” as he applied both his soft brushes and silky voice to a street preaching blues of “Everybody’s Crying” that included some Monkish piano soloing by Pattishall. Ross then went soul brother and took us to a “Mellow Good Time” that defined the evening with a funky chunky gospel, upbeat voice and message and a groove deep enough to fit a 4” PVC pipe.
Keeping on the pulpit, Ross’ voice had inflections of Stevie Wonder, gravitas of Donny Hathaway and the range of Jackie Wilson as he delivered material from his latest album All For On. Framed by Lollar’s thoughtful guitar work, Ross dueted with Stephenson with thoughtful lyrics about being “Free to be, Free to see” whereas his “Unspoken” had the rhythm team clip clop along with the love song with a reassuring smile.
The evening’s highlight had to be the ode to his daughter, “Away,” an anthem which is a must hear for every working father. Ross teamed with Irvin’s breathy B3 to tug at the heartstrings , dealing with life on the road and separated from a loving family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Meanwhile, “Sack Full of Dreams” mixed vintage late night cocktail moods and modern pulsations with a timeless message about love, peace and joy. The question for the appreciative fans at the evenings’ performance has to be if he will gain mass appeal through his voice, musicianship or his message. Judging by the response Saturday night, it could be a three way photo finish.
Upcoming shows at the Blue Whale include Ron Stout 06/13, Vincent Herring 06/15, Aaron Parks 06/16 and Dan Weiss Starebaby 06/18-19