Brian Blade Fellowship: Season of Changes

Blade’s ensemble seems heavily
influenced by his membership in Wayne Shorter’s magnificent but overtly
cerebral quartet, which isn’t always a good thing. The frequently
lethargic pace and finely crafted harmonic and melodic nuances occasionally
feel like music that must be listened to for your own good, like a meal
fortified with fiber but not very tasty. Praise be, then, to bust-outs
like Melvin Butler’s gnarly tenor saxophone solo on "Return of the
Prodigal Son," which also benefits from guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel,
whose tone and groove are reminiscent of Skunk Baxter on "Reeling
In The Years." Like the rest of the disc, the title track is a hit-and-miss
magnum opus, which does take advantage of Blade’s masterful ability
to turn the temperature up and down as a timekeeper. There are some
things here I’ll want to revisit: Myron Walden’s bass clarinet
on "Rubylou’s Lullaby;" the way "Most Precious One (Prodigy)"
apes The Bad Plus, of all people; the found-beauty of "Improvisation,"
with its pump organ undertow; and the slow build and crescendo of the
closer, "Omni." But there’s not enough sugar or caffeine to make
it addictive in the slightest.