The Path is Taiwanese vibist, marimbist, and composer Chien Chien Lu's bandleader debut. Since 2018, she has been an anchoring presence in trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's rhythm section. Her sophisticated, disciplined, often dazzling technique is rooted deep in post-bop swing and contemporary grooves. Her band includes pianist Shedrick Mitchell, guitarist Quintin Zoto, bassist/producer Richie Goods, drummer Allan Mednard, and conguero/percussionist Ismel Wignall. Pelt lends his trumpet to a track as well.
The program includes eight original compositions and four eclectic covers. It opens with a compelling reading of Roy Ayers' jazz-funk classic "We Live in Brooklyn Baby." Lu's double mallet skills reflect a taut middle ground between Ayers and Milt Jackson in terms of tone, backbeat, and blues phrasing. Elegant piano lines add dimension, while Mednard's breaks and Goods' electric bass line bring nuanced funk and drama to Lu's colorful harmonic array. Pelt is the featured soloist on the standard "Invitation." He goes head-to-head with Wignall's congas and Goods' upright bass, as Lu charges through post-bop extrapolation. Original track "Blind Faith" uses a modal intro framed by roiling electric bass and gauzy acoustic piano. Congas and drums circle one another just behind the beat as Lu delivers long, labyrinthine lyric lines. She heads right at the rhythm section as Mitchell enters comping the blues. "The Imaginary Enemy" commences abstractly as Lu's marimba solo engages in free contrapuntal inquiry with her bassist and drummer before Mitchell adds somber minor chords to introduce a cooking Latin motif. It intensifies via Lu's driving, crystalline vibes and Goods' rumbling fretless bass atop the rhythm section's grooving interplay. "Blossom in a Stormy Night" is based on a Taiwanese Hokkien folk song from 1934 about a woman who resorts to prostitution after being abandoned by her fiancé. It begins with a field recording of Lu's mother singing, then builds; Lu adds tender melodic phrases and an impeccably developed solo. "Tears and Love" is an introspective ballad that joins folk song, neo-soul, and contemporary jazz. Its focal point is a stellar solo from Goods on an electric eight-string bass. A pastoral reading of Bill Lee's "Mo' Better Blues" is a fine set closer. Mitchell drenches it in souled-out Hammond B-3 groove and gospel piano. Mednard propels the vamp with a shuffle, and Zoto adds silvery, tasty guitar lines that recall David T. Walker and Phil Upchurch. Lu's brief, meaty solo adds flash and power before the band restates the theme to carry it out. The Path is a solid, even auspicious debut. It provides an exceptionally well-rounded aural view of Lu as an intuitive, sophisticated composer, as well as a stellar instrumentalist and democratically inclined bandleader who makes full, creative use of her accompanists. Bravo.