Arthur Blythe Trio
Spirits in the Field

(Savant)

Although this disc is around a half-year old I didn't exactly notice the bandwagon leaving the station so I figure it's high time I revved one up - not that Arthur Blythe needs that for any good reason, other than I adore his talents. But stepping away from the hip hip hoorays for a moment, Spirits in the Field is Blythe's finest moment since 1979's Lenox Avenue Breakdown.

A simple yet renowned alto saxaphonist who was once on the hip list of the jazz snob elite, Blythe has quietly (now away from the spotlight) grown as an artist whose stunning vision of jazz strikes deep at the heart of a poignant and profound embrace of the blues. But Blythe has far more a complex musical ambition than this categorizing of him allows for. On Lenox Avenue Breakdown Blythe fronted a combo that featured talents as wide and diverse (and now revered) as James Blood Ulmer, skins man Jack DeJohnette, and the ever paired with Blythe tuba master Bob Stewart as well as a handful of guest apprearances. Lenox, as a result, was a simple record that felt extraordinarily complex when handled by the enormous abilities of such varied and ingenious instrumentalists.

Spirits in the Field finds Blythe trimming his combo down to a warm trio that once again feeds off of Bob Stewarts tuba backbone and is pushed along now by Cecil Brooks steady rythym. Blythe himself sounds as comfortable as he's ever been and his alto comes across with a sunny gospel feel more than blues because of the outright upbeat approach to numbers like "One Mint Julep" and the Blythe standard "Miss Nancy". Blythe's affection for ballads is wildly evident here as is his undeniable approach to melody retention no matter how exploratory his solo's become. Blythe always finds his way back to the song itself and carries it into the next set of rythyms, chord progressons, melodies, or just plain and simple sounds, with the uncanny ease of a man who feels every last note he plays.

With jazz done this well and this close to the edge, there's comfort in the discovery that this probably isn't just a man making this music, it's the very spirit of life breathing across that reed, those drum skins, and that brass. A wonderful effort.

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