Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Scott Colley: Empire

Scott Colley: Empire

By John Kelman
August 25, 2010
View read count

One of jazz's most ubiquitous bassists, Scott Colley has only released a handful of albums as a leader, compared to hundreds of sessions and live dates with artists ranging from

Jim Hall

guitar
1930 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Jim Hall and

Andrew Hill

piano
1931 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Andrew Hill to

Chris Potter

saxophone, tenor
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Potter and

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Sanchez. Architect of the Silent Moment (CamJazz, 2007), was a particularly impressive combination of head and heart, traditional roots and forward thinking, acoustic and electric. One of 2007's best , it was a turning point for Colley—a new path that the bassist continues to explore on Empire, a sure contender for one of 2010's top picks.

Back from Architect, trumpeter

Ralph Alessi

trumpet
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Ralph Alessi and pianist

Craig Taborn

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Craig Taborn help make Empire a logical progression, but with drummer

Brian Blade

drums
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Blade replacing Sanchez, and guitarist

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell fleshing the group out to a quintet, there's plenty of opportunity to explore other avenues, even as they spawn from the primary path defined by Colley's pen, responsible for all of Empire's ten tracks. "For Sophia" could be an outtake from Blade's Season of Changes (Verve, 2008), the four chords of Frisell's tremelo'd guitar and Blade's soft brushwork redolent of "Stoner Hill"'s folkloric Americana vibe, but starker still, with Colley's

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden-like solo of simple perfection mirrored when the ever-selfless Frisell takes over with equally flawless lyricism.

Beginning in quiet contemplation, the episodic "5:30 am" slowly picks up steam, as Alessi's plangent melody leads to an open-ended piano solo that quickly moves from focused melodism to more extreme expressionism, as Taborn passes the baton to Alessi with a repeated motif echoed by the trumpeter's own thematic start. Alessi solos with characteristic control and effortless virtuosity, bolstered by Colley and Blade, who turn up the heat with empathic support as the trumpeter mines the full range of his instrument, leading to Blade's ostinato-driven solo of lithe dexterity and full-throttled invention.

Form turns to freedom on "The Gettin Place," with Colley's staggered, yet still grooving pulse setting a gentle context for Frisell, whose inherent idiosyncrasy expands to contrapuntal orbit with Alessi, and a solo shifting from quirky to quintessential, as the guitarist creates layers of soaring distortion and jagged, processed harmonics. Coalescing into a series of shifting voicings, Alessi winds in and around Frisell's changes, his lightning-fast, cascading lines driven by Blade's own turbulence, rallying suddenly to bring down the dynamics for a slowly spreading coda that ultimately dissolves into the ether.

Whether it's the cerebral balladry of the dark-hued "Speculation," the angular, ambient lyricism of the bassist's rubato duo with Frisell on "Tomorrowland," his ambiguous, bass riff-driven duet with Alessi on "Gut," the oblique swing-meets-surreal of the quintet-driven "Five-two" or the abstruse but, amidst all this, more accessible "Now What?," Colley's writing acts like a lightning rod, encouraging a remarkable degree of free-thinking exploration amidst a group of charts ranging from detailed to sketch-like. More challenging than Architect, Empire may have been a long time coming, but arrives with an even more definitive sense of purpose and, given the chameleon-like demands on Colley as a sideman, a clear, cohesive and cogent conceptual voice.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

January; The Gettin Place; For Sophia; 5:30 am; Speculation; Tomorrowland; Now what?; Gut; Five-two; Five-two.2.

Personnel

Scott Colley

bass

Scott Colley: bass; Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Brian Blade: drums; Bill Frisell: guitar; Craig Taborn: piano.

Album information

Title: Empire | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: CAM Jazz

PREVIOUS / NEXT

15th Anniversary of the Litchfield J...
< Previous

Peter Sprague: Calling Me Home
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.