PHIL HAYNES & FREE COUNTRY

LIBERTY NOW!

Corner Store Jazz

Phil Haynes, drums/vocals/producer; Hank Roberts, cello/lead vocals; Jim Yanda, guitar/vocals; Drew Gress, bass/vocals.

Surprisingly, according to his press package “Liberty Now!” is not the album that drummer Phil Haynes and his Americana string band called ‘Free Country’ intended to make when they entered the studio. It took over ten years for this controversial group to record again, and at first, the goal was to present a celebration of the band’s original music. This album follows their politically and historically rich American Trilogy release.

“After the American Trilogy and our ‘Live’ record, I felt like the band was done. But the sound of Free Country and the chemistry that the four of us shared never left my head.  I thought about what I would want to do if we ever made another record. … I knew it would have to be our own originals. Each of these terrific musicians are lovely and very personal composers.  When a band comes together, with this much chemistry, mutual love and respect, you write and arrange material very differently,” Phil Haynes explained.

But various historic conditions colored their new studio session. The first was the dire outcome of the 2024 United States presidential election, a month prior to the recording. The second was the death of their revered trumpeter and friend, Herb Robertson.  He had been a collaborator and close with all the Free Country players.  The news of his death came at the very moment they entered the studio.

“You better believe Herb’s death colored the session! On the one hand, none of us felt like making music after that, certainly not immediately.  On the other hand, that’s exactly what Herb would want us to do: make music.  So, we were hurting, but that pain turned into beauty and vulnerability,” Phil Haynes recalled with compassion.

Political awareness had always propelled the Free Country four. They have been musically fueled and politically propelled since their formative years amidst the unrest and activism of the sixties. Thus, this double set album becomes a collective of past works laced into the new compositions. All of it reflects an American history lesson with their music.

They open with “Situation Ethnics” written by Yanda. The tune swings hard. His guitar dances through space like a determined eagle in a wind storm. Jim Yanda sets the tone while having a conversation with Hank Roberts on cello. It’s kind of a call-and-response jig. The drums of Phil Haynes put the ‘S’ in swing, while bass man, Drew Gress, locks arms with Haynes to create that tight rhythmic bond that makes this quartet so powerful. Also notable is the Gress poignant bass solo.

Yanda has composed the first two tunes. The third one is a Haynes original titled “Strands of Liberty.” His voice is transmitted through his drums with intensity.  There is chaos in the determined strum of the Yanda guitar. This tune demands the attention, while the cello sings above the fray, both beautiful and relentless.  There is definitely protest in this arrangement, tied like a bow around a raging bull.  Disc One celebrates the composer mastery of these musicians.  Disc Two unfolds the pages of the past, with songs they’ve covered and reimagined over the years. This is an exploration into Americana and Bluegrass bliss that merged with improvisational jazz and Coltrane culture. The result is something new and precious.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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