When
Spirit Fingers issued their self-titled 2015 debut, they were lauded for their collision of genres and rhythms under a jazz umbrella of their own design. Bandleader/pianist
Greg Spero's musical career includes membership in the
Buddy Rich Big Band and work with
Kamasi Washington,
Thundercat, and
Halsey. The others include bassist
Max Gerl, drummer
Mike "Blaque Dynamite" Mitchell (a longtime member of
Stanley Clarke's band), and guitarist
Dario Chiazzolino (an award-winning sideman and bandleader whose acclaimed work with
Dave Liebman,
Billy Cobham, and his own
Principles Sound quartet help to frame their musical fireworks). As ear opening as
Spirit Fingers' debut was, it merely laid the foundation for the adventure on
Peace, which is much more focused and ambitious.
While the group love to juxtapose genre attributes from organic and electric jazz, hip-hop, classical minimalism, breakbeat culture, and EDM, they do so here largely under an identifiable jazz fusion umbrella. While the knotty piano repetitions that undergird opener "Nails" come right out of the
Philip Glass fakebook,
Chiazzolino's legato playing asserts counterpoint as
Mitchell hammers the rhythm home with layers of breaking snares and martial accents, while
Gerl holds it all in place. Guest saxophonist
Brandon Cook's addition to "Spirit Food" travels over syncopated breaks as
Gerl punctuates the downbeat and
Spero adds pulsed chords. It moves along seamlessly, melding post-bop improv and interlocking funky grooves. The proceeding "Kalashnikov" commences as particularly aggressive jazz fusion before
Gerl and
Spero shift toward post-bop modalism with fine solos. Initially,
Chiazzolino assists with subtle yet glorious chord shapes before delivering a breathtaking solo that simultaneously references
Allan Holdsworth and
Al Di Meola.
Spero and
Gerl embrace salsa with burning piano montunos and a dancing bass line in closing. Guest
Judi Jackson's vocal on the breezy, kinetic, break-driven "Goodbye" is a tuneful, midtempo ballad that walks a tightrope between pop, jazz, and syncopated soul and canny improv underneath from
Spero and
Mitchell. Another of her showcases is "London Blues," with a finger-popping scat. "Cokes with Two Gregs," with saxophonist
Greg Ward, is a contemporary modal jazz jam with spiraling saxophones,
McCoy Tyner-esque pianisms, and frenetic exploratory drumming. The post-bop fusion exercise "Cross Twine" contains a vamping bass line that
Ornette Coleman would love. The remaining players exchange riffs and polyrhythms around and inside it.
Chiazzolino moves the group to the ledge with his razor-wire soloing before
Spero answers with short interlocutory chords and
Mitchell pushes the band to the margin with syncopated fills, rolls, and rim shots.
Peace is a next step for
Spirit Fingers. While the approach here advances their textural, sonic, and compositional frameworks, it retains all the colorful elements that made their debut so exciting while integrating them inside a new space for contemporary jazz. ~ Thom Jurek
