Book Of Mae'bul (Another Kind Of Sunrise)

DARIUS JONES QUARTET: The Book of Mæ’bul
AUM Fidelity, 2012

AVANT-MODERN JAZZ – This is the third release by Jones, a highly creative alto saxophonist whose compositions describe elements from an elaborate fictional/autobiographical world. Love and beauty are the themes here, so the overall sound is heartfelt and approachable but the details are complex and challenging. Jones’ sax has a hard, sharply-cut edge even in tender moments, and can build to a piercing scream, while his band combines softer emotions in amorphous shapes.

All tracks interesting. Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 3, 5

1. 6:50 – simple theme falls into lopsided piano solo, loud wailing sax
2. 5:43 – odd theme staggers forward, very angular sax & piano lines
3. 4:22 – upbeat bizarro-bop tries to drift but sax pulls it back, piano spins
4. 7:38 – sluggish intro, piano lines unspool, briefly upbeat, then ballad sax
5. 8:45 – steps carefully over ominous ground, good solos all around
6. 7:39 – confident stride drops into abstract solo bass, then a calm ballad
7. 8:00 – melancholy ballad, relatively straightforward with lovely solos
8. 6:48 – a pained march falls into the void… quiet improv floats away

[ Fo ] - April 2012