Black Action Figure - Stefon Harris

Dec

21

Black Action Figure - Stefon Harris

≡ Category: 1990s, Highly Recommended, Post Bop, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

It’s nice to see young people like Stefon Harris taking the trouble to really learn the history of the music (at least from bebop to the present). Besides having the chops on vibraphone, he’s integrated the styles from those periods into his playing, composing, and arrangements.

His arrangments on Black Action Figure (issued on the Blue Note label) are dense, modern and have a nice sense of swing, even when they’re referencing modern hip hop rhythms. (Check out the Harris original Of Things To Come for evidence.) But at the same time, he can go for a more late 70s post bop sound, as in Feline Blues. Harris doesn’t fall into the trap of being overly respectful of old chestnuts like There Is No Greater Love. He gives that one a good kick in the keister and makes it worth listening to for the umpteenth time in the process.

I enjoyed Harris’ choice of instrumentation, too. The blend of vibes and trombone (Steve Turre) adds a lot of possibilities. Harris and Turre are joined by Gary Thomas on flute and tenor sax, Jason Moran on piano, and Tarus Mateen on bass.

The improvisation end is taken care of nicely, too. Turre, Thomas, and Harris blow with energy, taste and feeling, so you get to enjoy a variety of tonal textures and styles.

The rhythm section takes care of business.

Unusual for such young players, they can even handle ballads with the requisite lyricism, as you can hear for yourself on the Harris original After The Day Is Done.

Unlike later Harris dates like The Unification Theory, there is no overreaching or grandiosity on Black Action Figure, just alot of innovative, fiery, playful blowing and arrangements.

The question that comes to my mind is, “Why don’t I want to give Black Action Figure five stars?” There are a couple of reasons. In the best art, there is a lucidity that can make even the most complex music seem hummable and approachable. That singing quality is lacking on Black Action Figure. Mind you, the music is always pleasant, but it doesn’t have the accessibility of John Scofield’s work, for example. The other factor is that Stefon Harris isn’t really pushing the music forward. He’s done a darn good job of assimiliating the music of the past and present and synthesizing it into his own thing, but he’s still just moving the pieces around. Nothing wrong with that, but there’s nothing on Black Action Figure that’s going to make you say “Whoa! I haven’t heard that before!”

Maybe I’m being to hard on Black Action Figure and Stefon Harris, but I don’t think so. So, Black Action Figure probably won’t blow you away, but it’s darned good.