Rico Jones

Bloodlines

 Giant Steps Arts

Welcome a new, spiritually oriented tenor saxophonist to the ranks. Colorado-native Rico Jones makes his New York City leader debut with live Bloodlines, recorded at Brooklyn’s Ornithology in August 2024. His quartet features peer guitarist Max Light with the veteran bass-drum tandem of Joe Martin and Nasheet Waits. Given his upbringing, Jones incorporates Latino, indigenous, and African-American influences into his music, as well as the “Black church” tradition, including the Catholic variety.

Jones needs no warmup. He launches immediately into the 30-minute-plus “Bloodline: Suite of the Omnipotent and Eternal Spirit” with its five parts: “Invocation,” “Lone Wolf”, “Bloodlines,” “Queen Isabelle,” and “Dwennimmenn.” The prayer-like “Invocation” is a group improvisation that shows the tight harmonic chemistry between Jones and Light. Jones sees the suite much like a film, filled with melodies that shed light on his ancestors, departed friends, his creativity, and lived experience. There is no distinct separation between the parts when listening or tracking through your player. Instead, there is simply a brief pause between sections. “Lone Wolf” features vigorous playing from Jones and the quartet, and carries more of a contemporary jazz vibe than a spiritual component, dedicated to a deceased friend. Nonetheless, the aggressive stance is impressive, as here they do create a cinematic-like score.  Martin and Waits combine for the intro to “Bloodlines,” a reverential piece that showcases his superb tone, respectful of his ancestors. It reminds me of Charles Lloyd’s searching style, even more so with Light’s solo echoing just a bit of Bill Frisell (another Colorado native, by the way). Martin’s bass solo connects to “Queen Isabelle,” for Jones’s beloved great-grandmother, whom Jones paints in stately, classy style with a steady gait to the rhythm as the piece builds in intensity, segueing directly to “Dwennimmenn,” a term from Ghana that means balancing strength with humility.  You hear just a smattering of applause, which detracts from the masterful, energetic playing . On the other hand, there are live John Coltrane albums with this paucity of applause.  Maybe it’s just a pet peeve of mine.

“Judgement and Absolution” is a heated workout between Jones and Light with the bass-drum tandem stoking the fire in the engine room.  “Across Time” begins the return to more spiritually imbued fare as it balances free-flowing post-bop lines with the imploring kind, Jones playing like one possessed and immersed in the divine. Light, per usual, proves the perfect foil, tamping it down just slightly before launching into orbit. Waits drives the quartet to a definitive finale. “The Moment” is more introspective, explained by Jones,  “points in life when I experience true clarity about the nature of all things.” Like some of these others, it builds to intensity in the middle section before receding into calmer waters as the quartet exits. The closer, “The Voice of God Shines Brightly On My Heart’ is a bookend to the opener “Invocation,” though slightly less prayer-like and rife with faint echoes of Coltrane’s sheets of sound in the opening and closing sections.

This is a stirring set from a young player who is shockingly talented. Spiritual jazz is in great hands. Keep your eye on Jones. He bears watching.

• Jim Hynes

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