JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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As of this writing, there are 48 used copies of Melange available on Amazon.com, available used for the princely sum of 1 cent. This may be indicative of the popularity of Melange, but hardly of it’s quality.
In some ways, Plaxico’s melodic, harmonic and rhythmic ideas are quite advanced, but they are clothed in highly recognizable devices, which just goes to show how hard it can be to pull the wool over the eyes of the general music buying public.
For example, the rhythms of Squib Cakes are drawn from James Brown funk, just amped up and reconfigured at a higher level of complexity. Part of what might be daunting for the public is just how many rhythms Plaxico throws at the listener. Plaxico tries to soften the blow by making the instrumentation familiar. George Colligan’s keyboard style is familiar from soul records. Drummer Lionel Cordew uses modern hiphop patterns adapted for jazz. Plaxico’s bass patterns are intricate and precise, but are based on funk and hip hop patterns. Plaxico’s charts for the brass section of either Lew Soloff or Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, and either Tim Ries or Marcus Strickland on tenor are an outgrowth what the Breckers started 30 years ago.
Another thing that helps to make the music accessible is that the soloists, like Marcus Strickland/Tim Ries on tenor, and George Colligan/Helen Sung on keys, improvise with an ease and melodic sense that belies Plaxico’s complex rhythmic structures and advanced harmonies. Their lines always sing.
For that matter, the band as a whole bites into these difficult arrangements with a commitment and verve which testifies to their professionalism. Despite the start stop rhythms, these tunes swing like mad, not an easy trick.
But somehow, Plaxico’s attempts to meet the audience halfway just weren’t enough to ensure the commercial success of Melange. My guess is that Plaxico’s ideas are too abstract for most people. They sound good, but they just don’t follow the usual patterns. Another problem is that, since Plaxico’s approach to the upbeat material is so unique, casual listeners might think that many of these compositions sound too similar to one another. Plaxico breaks things up a little with the ballad Darkness, scored for muted trumpets, as well as the modified spiritual of Sunday Morning, but for many people, that won’t be enough.
Personally, I find Plaxico’s approach stimulating. It’s certainly different. I cope with the somewhat abstract nature of Plaxico’s compositions by putting Melange in my CD player with other CDs and selecting random play.