Review Summary: Where and when are we?
“Ladies and Gentleman,” announces Pee Wee Marquette, “as you know we have something special down here at Birdland this evening: a recording for Blue Note Records”.
Two things are true about this announcement signaling the start of Chicago-based drummer, Band-leader, and “Beat Scientist”, Makaya McCraven’s latest offering. First, we do indeed have something special here in
Deciphering the Message . And second,
Deciphering the Message is indeed a recording for Blue Note Records. We are not, however, at New York’s Birdland Jazz Club. And, of course, neither are we accompanied by Pee Wee Marquette, the former – long deceased – Birdland master of ceremonies. Finally, “this evening” – though ambiguous enough to perfectly fit the evening of your listening – is in fact an evening from February 1954 when Art Blakey recorded his first Birdland record.
Suggested in this announcement is a question the rest of the record – and, more generally, all great collage work - evokes: Where and, most importantly,
when are we?
For background, this album is a remix album made by a producer. Granted full access to the Blue Note archive,
Deciphering the Message was outlined by McCraven’s extensive crate-digging exploration of the legendary label’s pre-70s catalogue. Curated through this process was a selection of 13 tracks by Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Kenny Burrell, and Eddie Gale, among others. Cut, looped, and rearranged – each of these 13 tracks serve as foundation for a corresponding reimagination. And in hearing this process, fans of the sampling tradition might be drawn to an obvious analogue in Madlib’s acclaimed
Shades of Blue , so it’s worth noting that
Deciphering the Message stands impressively strong when placed in this lineage.
The first track, “A Slice of The Top” (sampled from the 1966 Hank Mobley recording of the same name), is the simplest example of this crate-digging production process. Loop-worthy passages are cut from the original track, rearranged into a more compact form, and then married to McCraven’s drums and bass. The result is a new, yet familiar track that allows us to digest the warmth of the original recording through the sonic terms of a more modern bounce. This tighter, quasi-beat-tape styled format runs throughout most of the record, and it’s what allows thirteen otherwise unrelated tracks to come together into a single cohesive project.
What allows
Deciphering the Message to stand out, though, is that – beyond being a remix album made by a producer – it’s also a jazz album made by jazz musicians. Take the second track, “Sunset” (originally “Whistle Stop” by Kenny Dorham), for a straight forward example. Running through the mid-section of the track is a knocking, dub-like loop that again shows us McCraven’s knack for the rework. But it’s when Jeff Parker’s guitar finally breaks through the mix that we start to sense something new being built. The knocking, dub-style loop - which could have worked as an impressive stand-alone byproduct of Mccraven’s production abilities - now becomes an inspiring entrance point for new improvisation.
Moments like this are plentiful throughout
Deciphering the Message, which, in addition to Parker, features newly recorded elements from vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, guitarist Matt Gold, bassist Junius Paul, and tenor saxophone/flutist De’Sean Jones. But aside from the fact that it might be tedious to point out the highlights of each individual’s contributions, its actually quite difficult to tell who exactly is playing what on any given track. Unless you are familiar with the 1966 original by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, for example, you might think the vibraphone on “Tranquility” is courtesy of Joel Ross, who serves as a welcome addition to several other tracks.
And herein lies that unique undercurrent of uncertainty running throughout
Deciphering the Message. Who is playing what instrument? Are they playing it then, or are they playing it now? Where and
when are we?
Luckily, this uncertainty can be clarified, and that’s part of what makes the record great: it situates us toward 13 backward-facing threads through blue note history while simultaneously illuminating a blossoming contemporary jazz scene.
And if none of that matters to you, there are still 13 impressive beats to nod your head to.
