With his third Blue Note album, 2022's
Parable of the Poet, vibraphonist
Joel Ross offers yet another window into his nuanced and sophisticated post-bop world. Where 2020's
Who Are You? found him taking a more compositional, intricately arranged approach,
Parable of the Poet feels raw and atmospheric, as if it was recorded live in concert. Technically, the seven tracks on
Parable of the Poet make up an album-length suite that seems to be loosely conceptualized around a church service. Featured is
Ross' octet with alto saxophonist
Immanuel Wilkins, tenor saxophonist
Maria Grand, trumpeter
Marquis Hill, trombonist
Kalia Vandever, pianist
Sean Mason, bassist
Rick Rosato, and drummer
Craig Weinrib. Working with a deeply organic and improvisational style,
Ross allows each song to breathe, taking on new life under his band's sway. Many of
Ross' spiritually redolent ideas are reflected in the titles, as on "Prayer," a languid and dreamy opener with a flowing, R&B- and gospel-inspired lyricism. Similarly, "Wail" is pure anguish as
Grand and
Wilkins soar with throaty intensity over
Ross and his rhythm section's rambling,
Charles Mingus-esque groove. There's also an underlying mix of Latin and classical influences running through much of the album that comes out in subtle ways. "Doxology (Hope)" starts with a frenetic saxophone solo from
Grand that leads into a spiraling, flamenco-inflected groove where each soloist takes turns cartwheeling through the circular, minor-key form. Similarly, "Guilt" is a mournful ballad helmed by trombonist
Vandever that evokes the dancerly Afro-Cuban work of artists like
Ibrahim Ferrer and the
Buena Vista Social Club. Also engaging, "Choices'' opens with an unaccompanied trumpet solo from
Hill that balances warm lyricism with edgy modern classical phrases. From there,
Ross leads his group through a slowly moving tone cloud in which the whole band seems to be moaning with a collective grief over all the pain and suffering in the world. ~ Matt Collar