Sean Mason

A Breath of Fresh Air

 Taylor Christian

 To date, pianist and composer, Grammy-nominated Sean Mason has earned his cred by teaming with Catherine Russell, playing in Branford Marsalis’s Ma Rainey, and issuing his own mostly ‘old school’ The Southern Suite. There are not many jazz artists today schooled in the music of the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. It’s not that they can’t play that music; it’s mostly due to a lack of interest. Mason is one of those who can play that music and has shown an interest in it. However, from his extensive notes on his latest, A Breath of Fresh Air, it seems that he was developing a conplex. He did not want to be pigeonholed. Thus, we have him and his quintet exploring an array of forms on this record, in what Mason terms the freedom of self-expression. Make no mistake, there are still plenty of ‘old school’ concepts, such as recording in one room with no booths, barriers, or even sheet music. Mason says, “I teach the tunes by ear, sending voice messages singing the melody and playing the changes so the guys can internalize the tunes. I write the sheet music after the session.  The ‘guys’ are the same group that played on The Southern Suite.  They are trumpeter Tony Glausi, tenor saxophonist Chris Lewis, bassist Felix Moseholm, and drummer Domo Branch.

The other aspects that weave through his music are fashion, design, and dance – elements of contemporary culture, too often discarded by others. The program begins with “Rediscovery,” an older era sound with a bouncy step and advanced harmonics. He kept hearing a 2000s-era hip-hop progression in his head with a cowbell go-go beat. In other words, he moves through several facets of the jazz continuum in one piece, swinging hard and throwing in some stop-time passages to keep it more off-track than on-track. Interestingly, his mentor, Branford Marsalis, is one of the mixing engineers. Marsalis comments, “The album sounds like Ahmad Jamal and Horace Silver had a baby.”

 “Secrets’ balances hard bop with post-bop as Glausi finds a balance between the precise and urgent. Branch moves deftly between brushes and sticks while Mason shows his command of the bluesy piano solo and comping technique. “Duente” has a Mambo groove, which Mason terms almost hypnotic, allowing a listener to reflect and engage with their own inner voice, much the way Mason did in his own spiritual transformation. There’s a robust bass turn from Moseholm that adds to the reflective aspect of the piece. The outro is on the free side, underscored by the groove. Mason’s heady thoughts seem cast aside in “Boneback,” which thrives on a boogaloo groove. It celebrates the healing of his broken foot (thus the title) and celebrates resilience.

“Open Your Heart” is one of two requisite ballads. It’s modelled on the mid-1940s radio orchestras that provided a soundtrack for young couples thrown together, only to be torn apart by the war. It runs fairly smoothly and somewhat staid until Branch sweeps in with a 6/8 R&B backbeat, which launches heartfelt and witty turns respectively from Lewis and Glausi. Mason then plays an inventive solo, briefly quoting “Blue Monk” in the process.  There’s a familiar Nat Adderley “Work Song” groove by design to “Unfinished Business.”  The concept of ‘work’ is intentional, as Mason reminds us in his liner notes that self-discovery is an active process and the song is thereby a call to action.

“Capital J” plays to a blistering tempo, the band locked into a locomotive groove, part New Orleans, part bebop as the horns have different lines, yet both play with controlled abandon. Mason likens it to a jam session, each responding to the other’s riffs.  “Kiss Me,” a mid-tempo, two-step ballad, closes. The tune is about connection, and Mason’s effort to reclaim the romanticism of jazz, which has mostly gone by the wayside. Mason taps into his Ray Charles influence in a joyous, triumphant piece that just beckons one to dance, that is, if they have a willing partner.  Just let loose a little.

Mason bursts free of those pre-conceived expectations alluded to earlier, to make an an album that’s both varied but held together by a cohesive thought pattern. He encourages us to all breathe easier.

 

• Jim Hynes

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