The musician/poet/troubadour Gil Scott-Heron, who in the early 70's was influential to scores of people who heard his cool brand of hip music and absorbed the pithy observational wit of his lyrics, was being rediscovered recently when he released a new album I'm New Here in February of 2010. His rediscovery was crushingly cut short when Mr. Scott-Heron unexpectedly died in May of this year at the age of 62.
I was strongly influenced by the
messages that Mr. Scott-Heron offered in his raspy, baritone voice that spoke
with an inner wisdom that was somehow lost to many around him. His music shared
a jazz and blues sensibility that I was prone to like to be sure, but it was
his lyrics that were poignant and unforgettable.
He spoke of things that others would only think and he
did so in a beguiling manner that transcended time. I was not alone in my
admiration. Producer Mark Ruffin, who is the program director of the Sirius/Xm
Satellite channel Real Jazz, as well as a jazz journalist himself, was
similarly struck by the music and lyrics of Mr. Scott-Heron. Ruffin envisioned
an album of the poet's music, The
Revolution WIll Be Jazz , as an homage to the man whose later
years were filled with drug related hardships and conflicts.
Mr. Ruffin controversially chose the jazz baritone
Giacomo Gates for the project and was anxiously waiting to present the
finalized version to Scott -Heron when the singer suddenly died. If anyone had
trepidations about Ruffin's choice for this project, Mr.Gates grasp of the
music and his performance here has certainly put all doubts to rest.
Giacomo
Gates is an authentic jazz vocalist and student of the jazz tradition. He has
studied the works of vocalists like Jon Hendricks and Eddie Jefferson and has
absorbed and broadened some of their techniques including scatting, vocalese
and mimicking instruments with his voice.
Gates has a smoky,
slightly gravelly baritone voice with an unerring sense of swing. He is a
master storyteller, often choosing music that offers some comic relief. It is
precisely Mr. Gates' storytelling ability that makes him so well suited to the
music of Mr. Scott-Heron. Gates wisely chose from Mr. Scott-Heron's repertoire
those songs that tell a story, songs that spoke to him.
The
opening number is a swinging case in point. "Show Business" certainly
speaks to Mr. Gates. He has been plying his trade for some time and knows the
sentiments of the song that Scott-Heron sardonically wrote about... "show
business... got you hanging out in places you got no business." The song
cooks, with pianist John Di Martino tinkling his keys in deft accompaniment and
guitarist Tony Lombardozzi offering a tasty solo.
Gil
Scott- Heron's hopeful "This is a Prayer for Everybody to be Free" is
sung by Gates in a sauntering, heartfelt and earnest way. Claire Daly's
baritone sax solo is deep and raspy and compliments Mr. Gates scatting
brilliantly.
Mr.
Gates vocal interpretation of "Lady Day and John Coltrane" steals the
show. Lonnie Plaxico's plangent bass lines carry the tune beautifully, as
drummer Vincent Ector holds the rhythm down. Mr. Gates is in top form here, as
he seems to be in his element with the inherent flow of this song. Pianist Di
Martino intersperses Latin influenced rhythms in his fluid solo.The coda finds
Mr. Gates quietly whispering the last of the lyrics.
Another
inspired performance is "Legend In His Own Mind." Gates is
superlative when he has a story to tell and what better lyrics to work than
lines like "...he has more romances than Beverly has Hills." Gates
loves to embellish on the story line as he does on this one, and the group
simply gets off on grooving behind him. This group of veteran players offers
top notch accompaniment throughout as Mr. Gates ends the song in a beautifully
expressive rising coda.
Seemingly plucked from the scripts of
the series Mad Men, "Madison Avenue" is one of
those stealthy Scott-Heron songs that laments about the way American business
manipulates people to consume through clever advertisements. With lines like
they can "...they can sell tuna to the Chicken of the Sea." its not
hard to see why Gates chose this one. His soulful baritone takes this bluesy rendition
to the limit with his hip insider take on the sentiment as the band pushes the
song nicely.
Gates relishes the lyrics of
Scott-Heron's "Gun," with Tony Lombardozzi starting the song with a
funky guitar line that could have been a lead in for James Brown. He paces the
song beautifully letting the funk seep into the pours of the song while still
maintaining his cool delivery of the potent lyrics. You can feel the band
having fun with the infectious funky groove.
One of my favorite Gil Scott-Heron song's is his great "Winter in America." Perhaps because the original is so close to my heart I can't bear to hear it played anyway but the way its seared into my consciousness. Gates chooses to slow the song to a crawl which I find a little unsettling. Claire Daly adds some nice flute to the mix.
One of my favorite Gil Scott-Heron song's is his great "Winter in America." Perhaps because the original is so close to my heart I can't bear to hear it played anyway but the way its seared into my consciousness. Gates chooses to slow the song to a crawl which I find a little unsettling. Claire Daly adds some nice flute to the mix.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment