Present Tense was born out of two very specific desires. First, saxophonist
James Carter wanted a precise recorded portrait of where he was at as a musician, aesthetically and technically. Second was producer
Michael Cuscuna's dead-on assertion that
Carter, for all his instrumental and aesthetic virtuosity, had never been represented well on tape.
Carter's inability to resist overdoing it on virtually everything he records (ten-minute solos in standards, etc.) makes that point inarguable.
Cuscuna proves to be the perfect producer -- as both ally and foil -- and reins
Carter in to benefit the recording as a whole. The band on
Present Tense is solid: the young trumpeter and fellow Detroiter
Dwight Adams, pianist
D.D. Jackson, bassist
James Genus, and drummer
Victor Lewis round out the quintet, with percussionist
Eli Fountain and guitarist
Rodney Jones playing on three cuts each. The program is wide-ranging and eclectic, but it locks. It offers a portrait of
Carter as an exciting traditionalist who can stretch arrangements and previous interpretations to the breaking point, without simply making them egotistical statements about him as a soloist.
Dave Burns "Rapid Shave" opens the set on a stomping, storming, Blue Note-style hard bop workout with
Carter's tenor and
Adams' trumpet playing the 24-bar jump blues with joyous abandon.
Adams' comps push the fat harmonic center straight to the front.
Genus and
Lewis offer sprightly tempos and interesting rhythmic accents.
Adams proves he can hang with the big fellows nicely in his own solo.
Carter's "Bro. Dolphy" is one of the most compelling and emotionally satisfying tunes on the set, with
Carter on bass clarinet. It opens as an angular, slightly dissonant harmonic sprint but gives way to some of the most lyric balladry
Carter has ever composed; one can hear his love of
Billie Holiday in the melody even as he evokes
Dolphy's own love of the blues and simpler melodies. But this isn't enough by a long shot, and before long the ballad gives way to a stomping,
Mingus-style workout, the very kind that showcased
Dolphy's artistry as both a soloist and arranger.
Django Reinhardt's ballad, "Pour Que Ma Vie Demeure," with
Carter on soprano, is lovely. It lowers the intensity and features a fine solo by
Genus. Other standouts include
Dodo Marmarosa's "Dodo's Bounce," with
Carter on flute and
Adams playing a muted trumpet. Its elegant, cool swing is balanced by
Jones' semi-percussive strum that adds a weight to the rhythm section.
Jones also appears on the
Carter original "Bossa J.C."
Fountain's congas shimmer in this samba, which contains a post-bop force inspired by
Ray Barretto's tough Latin jazz sensibility and the lyricism of
Tom Jobim.
Carter's solo seeks the places where the tune's melody breaks out, and succeeds in finding it.
Jones follows the roll of rhythms in his single-string and chord voicings as he alternates between
George Benson-esque funk and
Baden Powell's elegant textural statements. It works without a hitch. Whether it's in the sprinting bop pyrotechnics of
Gigi Gryce's "Hymn of the Orient," or the off minor tropical blues of
Jimmy Jones' "Shadowy Sands," or the balladry of the standard "Tenderly,"
Present Tense showcases
Carter at his most disciplined and ambitious. Even his originals -- check "Sussa Nita" -- use the tradition in ways he hasn't employed before. This may be
Carter's finest album because of its insistence on the balance between restraint and adventure.
Carter placed himself in
Cuscuna's expert hands and it has paid off handsomely. ~ Thom Jurek