It has been six years since drummer
Kendrick Scott and his band
Oracle released their debut, The Source. On
Conviction, only guitarist
Mike Moreno remains. The rest of the lineup is filled out by
John Ellis on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, bassist
Joe Sanders, and
Taylor Eigsti on piano and Fender Rhodes. The set was produced by
Derrick Hodge of
the Robert Glasper Experiment. Nearly half the program is devoted to original compositions; the balance is made up of carefully chosen, wide-ranging covers.
Conviction isn't a showcase for
Scott's drumming skills, though he is clearly the leader -- evidence of his kit work is right up front in this crystalline mix. These tracks are sequenced to run seamlessly; the changes are always signaled by
Sanders' bassline. "Pendulum" is an all but unrecognizable version of a tune by indie electronic band
Broadcast.
Moreno's shimmering guitar is the only electric instrument here, but in
Scott's arrangement, the music winds around the original's one-note pulse, never quite touching it until the bridge. Then it milks it by extrapolating on numerous themes and rhythmic shifts and creating a lithe post-bop number from the skeleton. It's followed by a relatively straightforward cover of
Sufjan Stevens' "Too Much," with vocals by
Alan Hampton, that relies heavily on the hook as a rhythmic device.
Sanders' bassline ushers in a gorgeous reading of
Herbie Hancock's rather obscure "I Have a Dream," with fine solos by the bassist and
Moreno.
Scott's "Liberty or Death" has
Eigsti repetitively quoting a four-note vamp by
Nirvana as the band pulls it apart a stitch at a time, until what remains is a wide-open song without a fixed melody. Jazz-funk -- by way of
Scott's break-drenched, forceful drumming -- is evidenced in the jumper "Cycling Through Reality." The title track was written by
Hodge. It features an angular yet warm melody with beautiful ostinato from
Eigsti and intricate contrapuntal playing by
Ellis,
Moreno, and
Scott. "Be Water" samples the disembodied voice of Bruce Lee. Its moody, near ambient intro very gradually gives way to a pronounced, languid melody that engages each member of the band in a textural and dynamic shift that builds into something that weds modal and post-bop (with a killer head-to-head between
Ellis and
Moreno). The beautiful "Serenity" was co-written by
Hampton and
Scott, lending an unusual yet compelling flair for song form to the proceedings.
Conviction is a strong, ambitious effort. Its compositions and arrangements create a musical and spiritual dialogue between the recent past and historical present, and solidly point toward jazz's future. ~ Thom Jurek