CHRISTIAN SCOTT
Rewind That
2006
Concord Jazz 3122442
Christian Scott – Trumpet
Luques Curtis – Bass
Thomas Pridgen – Drums
Walter Smith III (except track 1) – Tenor-sax
Matt Stevens (except track 4) – Guitar
Zaccai Curtis (except track 10) – Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer
Donald Harrison (tracks 4, 8, 10 and 11) – Alto-sax
The jazz world used to be full of tenor-saxophonists pretending to be John Coltrane. Hearing this debut album by a 22-year-old trumpeter, I begin to think we are surrounded by trumpeters who want to sound like Miles Davis. Christian Scott has the same mournful tone (sometimes sounding rather flat) and the same economy with notes – playing short phrases above ostinato patterns very much in the style of Miles Davis when he was in his jazz-rock mode. Like Miles, Christian occasionally breaks out into fierce flurries of notes but most of his playing is subdued – and sadly rather uninteresting.
Thomas Pridgen’s cracking drums reinforce the jazz-rock style, mostly using the eight-in-a-bar rhythms of fusion, and Matt Stevens’ guitar adds some abrasive commentary – which can intrude on the ear in an otherwise well-recorded album. Christian Scott wrote nine of the eleven tracks himself but they tend to retread familiar paths and have little melodic appeal, preferring to depend upon repetitive grooves. Scott’s version of Miles Davis’s So What is rather lacklustre until Donald Harrison comes in with some biting alto-sax. In fact the outstanding soloists here are not Scott but Donald Harrison and tenor-saxist Walter Smith III, who both produce shapely solos. Despite their contributions, I am unlikely to be tempted to follow the CD title’s advice and rewind this album to hear it again.
01. Rewind That
02. Say It
03. Like This
04. So What
05. Rejection
06. Lay in Vein
07. She
08. Suicide
09. Caught Up
10. Paridise Found
11. Kiel
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