In the interim between trumpeter/composer
Marquis Hill's Modern Flows EP in 2014 and this full-length sequel, he issued
The Way We Play for Concord. It offered his genre blurring style in a program of (mostly) jazz standards. A year later he released the killer Meditation Tape, a recording that serves as a proper introduction to the music found here. The trumpeter is sporting an entirely new Blacktet for this date with drummer Jonathan Pinson, vibraphone and marimba ace Joel Ross, bassist Junius Paul, and alto saxophonist Josh Johnson, and guest vocalists.
Hill relentlessly pursues the seams between post-bop jazz, fusion, hip hop, and 21st century soul, erasing their lines of demarcation as he pursues a holistic, insightful vision. In "Twin Flame,"
Hill's labyrinthine compositional style reveals itself with circular vibraphone pulses and snare breaks under a winding head from the frontline players and Paul's
Jaco-esque electric bassline. First single "Ego vs. Spirit" commences with a breezy bass vamp and skittering drums amid martial vibes. The unified head is pastoral -- at least until it directly quotes
Ellington's "Caravan" -- with loping harmonies over a chorus of wordless backing vocals and Ross' vibes, which wed Ruth Underwood's to
Bobby Hutcherson's playing styles in provocative rhythmic flourishes before they give way to a fine solo from Johnson.
Hill's harmonic conceptions are wholly interactive: "The Watcher" and "Moments of Flow" offer examples where knotty solo transitions meet the horns' elegant lyric passages. The interplay of the rhythm section is remarkable in its complexity and rumbling, funky charm. Second single "Kiss and Tell" is a glorious soul tune with vocals by
Braxton Cook and
Rachel Robinson entwining like
Peaches & Herb or
Billy Paul and
Marilyn McCoo. While "As I Am" is a flat-out bop sprint, "Herstory" (featuring M'Reld Green) is an in-the-pocket, laid-back funk jam courtesy of the rhythm section. "Law of Vibrations" offers a frontline lyric passage worthy of the
Jazz Messengers before Paul and Ross take it outside, complemented by frenetic sticks on wood syncopation from Pinson. The horns enter midway, just in time for wonderful (i.e., not overplayed) solos from Ross, Johnson, and
Hill.
Modern Flows, Vol. II is a much more unified statement than its predecessor. This is the sound of a band intimately communicating, not just fine players articulating someone's tunes. The juxtapositions of genres here create a true fusion sound;
Hill doesn’t discriminate: for him these are incarnations of the same music. That said, unlike many of his peers, he has the compositional skill and requisite taste to communicate just exactly how he hears that. ~ Thom Jurek