Who Are You?

by Joel Ross

Overview

The sophomore album from Joel Ross, 2020's Who Are You? showcases the Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based vibraphonist's expansive post-bop jazz. The record follows his critically acclaimed debut, 2019's Kingmaker, and again finds him engaging in warm long-form interplay with his distinctive sextet. Joining Ross are pianist Jeremy Corren, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, and drummer Jeremy Dutton -- bandmates who all played on Kingmaker. Added to the ensemble this time are bassist Kanoa Mendenhall and harpist Brandee Younger. The addition of Younger is an especially interesting choice. Informed by jazz harp pioneers like Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, she brings an unusual texture to the ensemble. Her presence also means Ross' group has four chordal instruments (vibes, piano, bass, and harp) interacting at any given time. There's an impressionistic sound to many of Ross' songs, as on the opening "Dream." A wave-like composition, it brings to mind the work of artists like pianist Keith Jarrett and vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid. There's also a strong John Coltrane influence that runs through the album that's particularly evident in Wilkins' playing. On the minor-key "More?" the saxophonist rubs against the song's Eastern European folk intimations with his edgy tone and wry note choices. Picking up on his approach, Corren offers his own wild-eyed and dancerly response before Ross dives into the whirling fray. Underlining the Coltrane influence, Ross presents an elegiac and delicately textured rendition of the saxophonist's "After the Rain," off his landmark 1963 album Impressions. Where the original was spare and made the most of Coltrane's small quartet, Ross' version is more widescreen. He expands Coltrane's melody with a shimmer of bubble-bright harp and vibraphone tones that fall like water droplets onto a buzzing lake of bowed bass and rippling, woody drum patterns. From there, the group shifts gears into a measured reading of Ambrose Akinmusire's "Vartha." A carryover from Ross' time as a member of the trumpeter's ensemble, the song starts with a slow churn that sets up a kinetic solo from Wilkins. Ross then responds in kind, launching into a flurry of gyroscopic note spirals. The song ends with an equally frenetic drum outro that segues directly into Ross' composition "Marshland," a transition that speaks to the vibraphonist's interest in having longer musical conversations throughout the album. Elsewhere, he pays homage to the late Argentinian tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri on his soulful and dusky "Gato's Gift," and evokes the yearning vocals of Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa with a dual sax and vibraphone melody on the ballad "Harmonee." With Who Are You?, Ross has crafted another highly engaging small-group album that more than answers the question at hand. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	11/20/2020
Label:	Blue Note
UPC:	0602507127503
Rank:	87687

Tracks

1. Dream
2. Calling
3. Home
4. More?
5. After the Rain
6. Vartha
7. Marshland
8. Waiting on a Solemn Reminiscence
9. King's Loop
10. The Nurturer
11. Gato's Gift
12. When My Head Is Cold
13. Harmonee
14. Such Is Life
15. 03-01-2002

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joel Ross   Primary Artist,Vibraphone
Brandee Younger   Harp
Immanuel Wilkins   Sax (Alto)
Jeremy Corren   Piano,Fender Rhodes
Jeremy Dutton   Drums
Kanoa Mendenhall   Bass

Technical Credits

John Coltrane   Composer
Walter Smith III   Producer
Dave Darlington   Mixing,Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Ambrose Akinmusire   Composer
Emily King   Composer
Joel Ross   Composer,Producer,Musical Producer
Todd Gallopo   Package Design
Shane Patterson   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Marquis Hill   Liner Notes
Immanuel Wilkins   Photography
Gabrielle Garo   Composer
Jeremy Dutton   Composer
Jason Rostkowski   Engineer
Kanoa Mendenhall   Composer
Diego Rodoni   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Jonathan Hill   Assistant,Assistant Engineer