With his third
Blue Note
album, 2022's
Parable of the Poet
, vibraphonist
Joel Ross
offers yet another window into his nuanced and sophisticated post-bop world. Where 2020's
Who Are You?
found him taking a more compositional, intricately arranged approach,
feels raw and atmospheric, as if it was recorded live in concert. Technically, the seven tracks on
make up an album-length suite that seems to be loosely conceptualized around a church service. Featured is
Ross
' octet with alto saxophonist
Immanuel Wilkins
, tenor saxophonist
Maria Grand
, trumpeter
Marquis Hill
, trombonist
Kalia Vandever
, pianist
Sean Mason
, bassist
Rick Rosato
, and drummer
Craig Weinrib
. Working with a deeply organic and improvisational style,
allows each song to breathe, taking on new life under his band's sway. Many of
' spiritually redolent ideas are reflected in the titles, as on "Prayer," a languid and dreamy opener with a flowing, R&B- and gospel-inspired lyricism. Similarly, "Wail" is pure anguish as
Grand
and
Wilkins
soar with throaty intensity over
and his rhythm section's rambling,
Charles Mingus
-esque groove. There's also an underlying mix of Latin and classical influences running through much of the album that comes out in subtle ways. "Doxology (Hope)" starts with a frenetic saxophone solo from
that leads into a spiraling, flamenco-inflected groove where each soloist takes turns cartwheeling through the circular, minor-key form. Similarly, "Guilt" is a mournful ballad helmed by trombonist
Vandever
that evokes the dancerly Afro-Cuban work of artists like
Ibrahim Ferrer
and the
Buena Vista Social Club
. Also engaging, "Choices'' opens with an unaccompanied trumpet solo from
Hill
that balances warm lyricism with edgy modern classical phrases. From there,
leads his group through a slowly moving tone cloud in which the whole band seems to be moaning with a collective grief over all the pain and suffering in the world. ~ Matt Collar