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Rahsaan Barber: Six Words

By Chris May
September 21, 2024
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Six Words is saxophonist Rahsaan Barber's fourth album on his Nashville-based label Jazz Music City, and the first to be conceived as a suite. The titular six words are something

Wynton Marsalis

trumpet
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Wynton Marsalis said in a conversation with Barber: "There is power in this music." With that thought in mind, Barber composed a series of pieces focused on protest, personal liberation and love, and on the penultimate track, grief, in a tender elegy for

Roy Hargrove

trumpet
1969 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Roy Hargrove, "Remembering Roy."

The band Barber assembled for the session—the whole album was recorded in a Nashville studio on a single December day in 2022—is a sextet with a three-horn frontline. Barber on tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, brother

Roland Barber

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Roland Barber on trombone,

Pharez Whitted

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Pharez Whitted on trumpet,

Matt Endahl

piano
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Endahl on piano,

Kevin Beardsley

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Kevin Beardsley on electric and acoustic bass, and

Joshua Hunt

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Joshua Hunt on drums.

Much of the album is through composed and ensemble work is key throughout. There are solos on each track, but they are brief and improvised against a backdrop of close-harmony horn duos and trios. In the main, the voicings are lush and lyrical—opener "Unity, Part 1," for instance, has strong echoes of

Gerry Mulligan

saxophone, baritone
1927 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerry Mulligan and

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker's sonorities in Mulligan's early 1950s pianoless quartet. Occasionally the charts take on a degree of astringency, as in the opening minutes of "The Long Wait For Justice." Rhythms are loose and swinging (more echoes of the Mulligan band), edging towards turbulence on "Dreams Of Goliath" and samba and traditional Native American dance beats on "Sun Dance."

As a soloist, it is Roland Barber who attracts most attention, just as he did on another 2024 Jazz Music City album, drummer

John Alvey

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">John Alvey's love letter to hard bop, Loft Glow, reviewed here (which also featured pianist Matt Endahl). Roland Barber can embrace rough, tough tailgate (as on "Sun Dance") and gentle lyricism (as on "Reach"). He is someone to look out for.

As befits its subject matter, Six Words has a dignified, thoughtful vibe. Despite the aforementioned "Dreams Of Goliath" and "Sun Dance," however, it could benefit from a bit more edge of the seatness.

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Track Listing

Unity, Part I; The Long Wait for Justice; Dreams of Goliath (Prelude); Dreams of Goliath; Unity, Part II; Sun Dance; Remembering Roy; Reach.

Personnel

Rahsaan Barber

saxophone

Roland Barber

trombone

Pharez Whitted

trumpet

Matt Endahl

piano

Kevin Beardsley

bass

Joshua Hunt

drums

Album information

Title: Six Words | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Jazz Music City

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