Kendrick Scott has learned a lot about using music as a medium from his drumming stints with Terence Blanchard and Charles Lloyd, both active in mixing causes with their art form. Scott’s own Oracle has delivered a wide swath of sounds, with this most recent album quite a change in that it uses DJ Jahi Sundance’s turntables along with messages that bring up personal and social issues along with his team of Mike Moreno/g, Taylor Eigsti/key, John Ellis/sax and Joe Sanders/b. Produced by longtime associate Derrick Hodge, the album is a mix of ethereal leaning towards melancholic mods, thoughtful musicings and mixes of poetry, hip hop and sounds in a silent way.
Ellis’ soprano sax goes on a tape directed journey on “New Eyes” and joins with vocals and Sanders’ throbbing bass for a thoughtful “Voices.” Scott is most dramatic on the buildup after Eigsti’s flowing lead in to the post bop “Mocean” and is playful with the Ellis, always with effects not far away on “Windows.” Ellis broods and sighs deeply to Scott’s brushes on “Becoming” with the band rocking the hardest during “Don Blue.” Like his early employer Blanchard, Scott seems to be using this music as a conversation starter, dealing with issues both personal, social and political. Let the chat begin.