Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gerald Beckett: Mood

Gerald Beckett: Mood

By Chris M. Slawecki
July 31, 2020
View read count

Flautist, bandleader and composer

Gerald Beckett

flute

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Beckett picks up on Mood where he left off from 2017's Oblivion (Summit), a stellar collection of songs by

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis,

Ellis Marsalis

piano
1934 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Ellis Marsalis,

Astor Piazzolla

bandoneon
1921 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Astor Piazzolla,

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerry Mulligan and other great jazz composers. Beckett wrote several new originals for his new Mood, including personal remembrances of hometown haunts such as "Club Raven" and an "Ode to Ray Wood," and sets them among compositions by

Wynton Marsalis

trumpet
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Wynton Marsalis,

Ron Carter

bass
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Carter and a trio of American pianists. "My own songs reflect events that are a part of my life's journey," Beckett explains. "The others are songs that have caught my ear over the years."

Mood strikes a big and warm old-school acoustic sound and hits it right from the opening "Down Low." "Composing this song brought to mind the many 'juke joints' once owned by relatives and family friends," writes Beckett in the notes to "Down Low." Beckett's flute sounds strong, supple and sure as it swings and sings this sweet and funky groove. "Down Low" places Beckett in the lineage of classic jazz flutists, and in an instant. It's hard to imagine a more effective opening tune than this.

"Ode to Ray Wood," paints Beckett's sonic portrait of the wooded "place where we as a family made many frequent visits to my mother's many relatives": Horns sound the peal of a train whistling down a distant track as rustling percussion brings out animal sounds of the night. Beckett's flute rises up and flutters against the sky, a bird singing a reflective nightsong which meanders like a country stroll in familiar woods that you're in no particular hurry to pass through. Noah Frank slips into a trumpet solo dripping with soul, blues and funk to close down the night.

"Ode to Ray Wood" so profoundly evokes the sound of

Yusef Lateef

woodwinds
1920 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Yusef Lateef's Atlantic Records catalog that I literally looked up and listened to Lateef's classic "In the Evening," featuring pianist

Kenny Barron

piano
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Barron, while writing this review of Mood. Barron is also one of three American pianist-composers surveyed here, represented by "Spirit Song."

"Minor Funk" (

Cyrus Chestnut

piano
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Cyrus Chestnut) maintains five furious minutes of the angular, helter-skelter sound, especially during its piano and sharp-edged alto sax solos, that led many early detractors to deride be-bop as "Chinese music." Beckett leads the ensemble into burning down "John Neely-Beautiful People," its bass and drums crackling through the rhythm like consuming fire behind a bright but blue piano solo that winks at

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk's "Well, You Needn't." "This hard-swinging song, recorded in 1970 on (Harold) Mabern's album Greasy Kid Stuff, in my opinion should be a jazz standard," Beckett suggests in his notes.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Down Low; Spirit Song; Doom; John Neely�CBeautiful People; Club Raven; Waterfalls; Shacktown; Minor Funk; Ode To Ray Wood.

Personnel

Gerald Beckett

flute

Ruben Salcido

saxophone

Noah Frank

trumpet

Larry Douglas

trumpet

Ari Caprow

guitar

Steve McQuarry

piano

Terry Rodriguez

piano

Carl Herder

bass

Paul Federighi

bass

Greg German

drums

Fred Johnson

vocals

Vincent De Jesus

congas

Album information

Title: Mood | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Pear Orchard Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Meeting with Steve Swallow
< Previous

The French Scene - Part 2
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.