Best known for his work with the
Brian Blade Fellowship, pianist
Jon Cowherd spotlights his own swinging, harmonically nuanced leadership skills on 2022's
Pride & Joy. Although separated by several years,
Pride & Joy is essentially a follow-up to the pianist's 2013 debut,
Mercy. As with that album, here
Cowherd is joined by the primary members of what could easily be described as his supergroup trio, drummer and longtime collaborator
Blade and bassist extraordinaire
John Patitucci. Adding to the supergroup vibe of the album are several special guests. On
Mercy,
Cowherd showcased guitarist
Bill Frisell. Here, he brings along saxophonist
Chris Potter and percussionist
Alex Acuna, who apply their own virtuosic skills to half the album. Creative partners since they first met while students at New Orleans' Loyola University,
Cowherd and
Blade have an almost telepathic musical connection.
Patitucci, with his warm tone and lithe harmonic lines, rounds out the empathic vibe of the trio. It's an organic sound they exploit on tracks like the spiraling "The Colorado Experiment" and the far-eyed ballad "Honest Man," the latter of which is a tribute to
Cowherd and
Blade's Loyola mentor
Ellis Marsalis. There's also "Chickmonk," whose edgy melody certainly evokes a combination of the two artists referenced in the song title. That said, the cuts with
Potter and
Acuna are equally dynamic. The opening "Grand Mesa" is a wide-swinging modal number where
Potter pushes the melody with his robust,
Coltrane-esque tone. More ruminative is "Little Scorpio," a slow-churning, minor-key piece that has the chamber jazz intensity and raw spirituality of a
Radiohead song reworked by South African pianist
Abdullah Ibrahim. Equally compelling is the kinetic title track, with its roiling, fusion-meets-bossa nova atmosphere. ~ Matt Collar
