I remember when I first discovered jazz in the 1970s that I made it an obsession to go and see every alumnus of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra that was still performing, as I knew some day this privilege would be taken away due to the Lord’s attrition rate.
The same thing should be considered for the artists that have been under the tutelage of master drummer and teacher Art Blakey. Alto saxist Bobby Watson was a member of one of the last incarnations of a Messenger unit, from 1977-81, just before the Marsalis brothers took the baton, and you can feel the Blue Note hard bop corpuscles running through Mr Watson’s veins. This latest album has him giving tribute to his swinging Kansas City roots with a kindred spirit team of Jeremy Pelt/tp, Cyrus Chestnut/p, Victor Jones/dr, Curtis Lundy/b and guest Carmen Lundy, who simmers like Kansas City baby back ribs on “Our Love Remains”.
Watson is in a Parkeresque mood, giving a “Donna Lee” variation on the hip stop-starting title tune, while his sweet tone is the perfect mate for Pelt’s swaggering around Lundy’s bass line and Chestnut’s open fire on “Red Bank Heist”. There’s a Horace Silverish pulse to the hip “Bon Voyage” and an easy swing led by Chestnut on the bopping “Mind Wine” while the horns gloriously harmonize on the mellow “Celestial” and the velvety “I’m Glad There Is You”. A variation of Coltrane’s classic has Jones snapping some crisp sticks on a bouncy “Side Steps” while the leader is living the lush life on “Dear Lord” and Blues For Alto”.
If I could’ve sounded like Watson, I would have taken up the alto; he makes music that inspiring and enjoyable. Buhaina would be proud.