Blue Note Records
showcases the deep artistry of their roster with the debut album from label supergroup
Out Of/Into
, 2024's
Motion I
. Formed to mark the storied label's 85th anniversary,
features some of their brightest stars, including pianist and musical director
Gerald Clayton
, alto saxophonist
Immanuel Wilkins
, vibraphonist
Joel Ross
, drummer
Kendrick Scott
, and bassist
Matt Brewer
. Each of these musicians are well-regarded in their own right and have played a stylistically broad manner of jazz, from driving hard bop and standards to more fusion-oriented styles of electronic jazz and R&B. The fear with any ad hoc all-star band is that they will sound a bit too loose and unfocused. Thankfully, that's not the case here, and
manage to achieve a cohesive and engaging group aesthetic. Rather than play standards or classic compositions associated with
Blue Note
, they focus on their own originals, most of which evoke the harmonically exploratory and investigate post-bop jazz
is often recognized for. They open with
Clayton
's "Ofafrii," a roiling, Afro-Latin-tinged modal number that nicely exploits the woody, organic textures and kinetic interplay the band is going for. It's a warm, cocoon-like vibe they further conjure on "Gabaldon's Glide," a dusky, midtempo
composition that settles into a circular, stardust-laden groove. Though the album never sounds too beholden to any one sound there are influences at play.
Ross
' "Radical" has the driving modalism of the late-'60s
Miles Davis
quintet, while
Brewer
's "Second Day" brings to mind the floating quality of a
Herbie Hancock
's
Sextant
album, especially with
's blown-out Fender Rhodes and effects pedal flourishes. Elsewhere,
Scott
's "Aspiring to Normalcy" evokes the eerie majesty of a '70s horror soundtrack and
Wilkins
' noir-ish ballad "Bird's Luck" recalls the smoky romanticism of
Dexter Gordon
's latter-career work in the film
'Round Midnight
. There's a strong mood setting vibe on
, one that finds
drawing upon
's past while pushing toward the future. ~ Matt Collar