It is certain by now that jazz trumpeter Christian Scott is a spiritual descendant of Miles Davis.<\/p>\n
Five studio albums in (one a double disc), plus a live disc and a collaboration effort, have marked Scott\u2019s output over the last 11 years, and in that time he has inherited many of Davis\u2019 spiritual and sociological traits while carving out a modern niche of his own. If you haven\u2019t heard of Scott, The Collection <\/i>is worth seeking out even for casual jazz fans to become acquainted with the man and his music.<\/p>\n
This 2014 effort draws more or less equally and non-chronologically from Scott\u2019s first four albums plus one track from 2008\u2019s Live At Newport<\/i> to give a balanced look at the trumpeter\u2019s career. And for those unfamiliar, the song titles give an indication of where Scott\u2019s heart and soul lies: \u201cThe Uprising,\u201d \u201cAmerican\u2019t,\u201d \u201cCease Fire,\u201d \u201cJenacide (The Inevitable Rise And Fall Of The Bloodless Revolution),\u201d \u201cLitany Against Fear,\u201d \u201cSpy Boy\/Flag Boy,\u201d etc. There aren\u2019t many jazz musicians speaking out about society\u2019s issues today, which automatically makes Scott more interesting than many of his peers.<\/p>\n
There is a through-line socially and musically through the songs as well. The two selected from the 2006 debut Rewind That <\/i>are tentative but melodic and melancholy, employing a bit of electric guitar but sounding similar to other Concord jazz artists of the time; of the two, \u201cRewind That\u201d is the superior piece.<\/p>\n
But by 2007, Scott had already become socially aware, standing defiantly on the cover of Anthem <\/i>in a leather coat and holding his trumpet on the messy streets of his hometown New Orleans, which was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The music followed suit, too, at turns bittersweet, angry, and hopeful, drawing on strands of jazz, rock, R&B, and hip-hop to create a minor masterpiece; fully one-third of The Collection <\/i>draws from this disc. The only major lapse in judgment is the exclusion of \u201cDialect,\u201d a droning, razor-sharp piece as intense as \u201cLike That\u201d is serene, though only the latter is included here. \u201cAnthem\u201d would have been a good choice, too, particularly the hip-hop version with Brother J\u2019s rap. But if you like what hear on this disc, Anthem <\/i>is definitely the next disc to pick up.<\/p>\n
From there \u2013 following the Newport live disc \u2013 Scott released 2010\u2019s Yesterday You Said Tomorrow<\/i>, which flourished a social conscience with songs like \u201cK.K.P.D.\u201d (Ku Klux Police Department, not included here) and \u201cAmerican\u2019t.\u201d The liner notes indicate Scott\u2019s desire to recall the greats of the past \u2013 Davis, chiefly \u2013 while remaining firmly, defiantly modern. The disc mostly succeeded, although only \u201cThe Eraser\u201d is as memorable as the best work from Anthem<\/i>. By now, Scott also had found some new players for his band, with only Matthew Stevens remaining on guitar from the Rewind That <\/i>days.<\/p>\n
He also had begun to embrace his skin color, removing the Scott from his last name and calling himself Christian aTunde ADJuah. This was also the name of his next album, a sprawling double-disc 23-song effort that has three songs represented here: the skittish \u201cThe Red Rooster,\u201d the effervescent, driving \u201cWhen Marissa Stands Her Ground,\u201d and \u201cSpy Boy\/Flag Boy,\u201d which is sort of a combination of the two. On both of the latter songs, Scott\u2019s solos are equaled by Jamire Williams\u2019 knotty, rhythmic drum patterns, which propel the songs forward and never allow the listener to settle. The whole band is solid, of course, but it\u2019s Scott and Williams who really push the limits here.<\/p>\n
Not for nothing has Scott called his work \u201cstretch music,\u201d meaning he is well aware of the great jazz of the past and has no desire to copy it but to include as much modern music (and social issues) as possible in the jazz framework. The Collection <\/i>bears out the first decade of his goal, and if 2015\u2019s electronica-heavy Stretch Music <\/i>and 2017\u2019s politically-charged Ruler Rebel <\/i>are any indication, Mr. Scott is just getting started. Good on him. Check this disc out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":33114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7660],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-44905","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-christian-scott","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44905"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}