A generation ago, these men were the “Young Lions” of jazz. Now they have aged gracefully to become the elder statesmen and the standard bearers.
Consisting of Gary Bartz//as, Larry Willis/p, David Williams/b and Al Foster, the Heads of State mix vintage bop tunes with standards and originals in a delightful blue plate special. Bartz is in rich form, with an alto that serenely sighs over “Someone to Watch Over Me” digs into a funky soul groove on the no frills groover “Freedom Jazz Dance” and sweetly sings his soprano on Way Shorter’s “Dance Cadaverous. Willis is gorgeously lyrical on “Keep the Master in Mind” and soft on his ”The Day You Said Goodbye.” Bebop is well sopen hear, as Foster snaps on the cheerful “Moose the Mooche” and sizzles his high hat on ”Milestones” while making the team get fun and quirky on Monk’s title track. No fusion, no confusion.
Alto saxist Bobby Watson teams with bassist Curtis Lundy’s trio of Stephen Scott/p and Lewis Nash/dr to give a mini history of some of the pioneers of Black America, a worthwhile task well done. Some of the people are obscure, such as “Major” Taylor, the first African American cyclist to win the world one-mile track cycling championship in 1899, and the music clippety clops at a delicious pace with Nash’s drum work. The first female self-made millionaire, Madam CJ Walker, is given the spotlight with a bouncy work by Scott and Nash on “The Entrepreneur” while Sammy Davis Jr.has soft shoe brushwork to support Watson’s rich horn on “The G.O.A.T.” Some soul minded “Shaft” rhythms lead into a tribute to Dr. Mark Dean on “The Computer Scientist” and sleek bop lines by Watson give a nod to the famed Tuskegee Airman Wendell O. Pruitt on “The Aviator.” A fresh mix of history that makes the ears smile along with the heart.