Over two-plus decades spent living and working in New York, there is very little guitarist, composer, producer, and educator
Joel Harrison hasn't tried. Early outings included the seminal Free Country with
Norah Jones and
David Binney, the orchestral
Infinite Possibility, and the singer/songwriter date Other River.
Harrison is working with a concept here.
America at War is a big-band meditation on America's obsession with armed conflict; the country has been at war through 226 of its 240 years. In writing and arranging for a large group (they are conducted by trumpeter
Matt Holman),
Harrison pursues many musics under the rubric of jazz in eight originals and a cover of
Tom Waits' "Day After Tomorrow," an antiwar song from 2004's
Real Gone, issued the year after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Some of
Harrison's 18 collaborators include trumpeter
Ingrid Jensen, saxophonists
Jon Irabagon and Lisa Parrot, trombonist
Curtis Hasselbring, bassist
Gregg August, and pianist
Daniel Kelly.
The nearly ten-minute opener, "March on Washington," starts as a funky assertion with tubas, trap kit, a punchy brass groove, and
Harrison's electric guitar laying out a sinister funk vamp adorned by Wilson Torres's vibraphone. It winds itself out to play off the funky, bluesy vamp evoking early
Hot Rats- and
Waka Jawaka-era
Frank Zappa as it proceeds. Dave Smith's trumpet solo presages an explosive fuzzed-out wah-wah six-string break before the martial snare of Jared Schonig ushers in an extended cacophonous horn chart with a surprise conclusion. While "Yellowcake" begins with a noir-ish, dramatic, orchestral interlude, it suddenly shifts gears and finds a mean Latin groove accented by bright brass, hand percussion, and vibes, with killer solos from
Hasselbring and
Irabagon. "The Vultures at Afghanistan" is where the modernist big-band innovations of the
Clarke-Boland Big Band meet the Afro-Cuban grooves of
Irakere. Its solos from
Irabagon, Ben Kono's snaky soprano saxophone, and
Alan Ferber's boss trombone are underscored by Schonig's frenetic kit, as well as Torres' bongos, congas, and shakers." "Requiem for an Unknown Soldier" is moodier, more expressionistic. The piano shimmers while introducing a slowly developing horn chart that offers staggered harmonies and pillowy textures in a long, languid suite, complete with stellar blues-inflected soloing from
Jensen and
Harrison. "Gratitude" weaves soul, gospel, and sunshine pop into its arrangement. Its processional tempo begins to accelerate and nod at the influence of
Oliver Nelson halfway through, with swirling orchestral colors and polyrhythms. While
Harrison's guitar playing is front and center on
Waits' "Day After Tomorrow," it is granted further poignancy by him singing the lyric in front of restrained and tasteful accompaniment. Finally, "Stupid, Heartless, Pointless Drug War," melds post-bop jazz balladry, gritty blues, funky syncopation, and swinging tempos that would make
Henry Mancini doff his hat to the composer. With
America at War,
Harrison proves once again he is a master of articulating and innovating on the modern big-band form and is a compelling contributor to its written literature. This is a masterful work whose significance and musical importance will endure. ~ Thom Jurek