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James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto

By Mark Corroto
January 25, 2019
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James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto

The revolution will not be televised. Those words by Gil Scott-Heron from 1970 are more relevant to today's jazz revolution than any time since the mid-1990s, when conservatively-dressed youngsters mimicked the post-bop of the 1960s and were promoted as liberators. More recently, the touted saviors rehash a quasi-spiritual fusion that stands in for �� la mode jazz. But dig a little deeper, and look past the hype, and the true champions can be found. One great example is the saxophonist

James Brandon Lewis

saxophone, tenor
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">James Brandon Lewis who has quietly (too quietly) and steadily produced commendable recordings. His release, An Unruly Manifesto demands attention for its fearlessness and self-assurance.

Lewis spent a brief time with a major label on his Divine Travels (Okeh, 2014) and Days Of FreeMan (Okeh, 2015). But like

David S. Ware

saxophone, tenor
1949 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">David S. Ware's foray into the establishment in the late 1990s, Lewis' music can't be typecast for telecast. He subsequently has done his best work with the self-released No Filter (2017) and in the excellent duo recording Radiant Imprints (Off, 2018) with

Chad Taylor

drums
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Chad Taylor.

His quintet finds the return of bassist Luke Stewart, drummer Warren Trae Crudup III and guitarist

Anthony Pirog

guitar, electric
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Pirog from No Filter, plus the New York-Chicago-now-New-York-again trumpet of Jaime Branch. The music is built upon propulsion on tracks like "Sir Real Denard" and "Escape Nostalgic Prisons." The latter hits you square in the chest, the former shapes an urgency much like that of

Steve Coleman

saxophone, alto
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Coleman's music. Lewis' music is informed by both hip-hop and rock, yet there's no doubt he is advancing the traditions of

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane and

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman. His wordplay allusions to Ornette's "Beauty is a Rare Thing" are found on "Haden Is Beauty," a dedication to

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden with Stewart's opening and an intonation borrowed from the band New And Old Dreams with Lewis as

Dewey Redman

saxophone, tenor
b.1931

" data-original-title="" title="">Dewey Redman and Branch honoring

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry. And, like many a recording by that quartet, this eight-minute piece could have continued on for another thirty minutes without complaint. Which brings us to the title track, which is anything but an obstreperous trip. It builds energy upon a forward thrust with Lewis' confident Herculean tenor clearing a forest of today's jazz posers.

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Track Listing

Year 59: Insurgent Imagination; An Unruly Manifesto; Pillar 1: A Joyful Acceptance; Sir Real Denard; The Eleventh Hour; Pillar 2: What is Harmony; Escape Nostalgic Prisons; Haden Is Beauty; Pillar 3: New Lived, Authority died.

Personnel

James Brandon Lewis

saxophone, tenor

James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone; Luke Stewart: bass; Warren Trae Crudup III: drums; Jaimie Branch: trumpet; Anthony Pirog: guitar.

Album information

Title: An Unruly Manifesto | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Relative Pitch Records

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