Joe Lovano Us Five Folk Art Review

It is hard to believe that Folk Art is tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano's 21st recording for Blue Note. Here he debuts his new ensemble, Us Five, playing with the considerable talents of James Weidman on piano, Esperanza Spalding on bass, and Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela on drums and percussion.

It is one of the first significant times that the 'cat in the hat', Lovano, has played with musicians considerably younger than himself. The result, unsurprisingly, is a rhythm-heavy melee. Citing Tony Williams and Herbie Hancock, the young players who shook up Miles Davis' playing in the late 60s, as an inspiration; the rhythm section has a similar impact on Lovano. The album, which roughly takes the view that jazz is the folk music of America, is edgy and inspired.

Recorded in December 2008 after playing at the legendary Village Vanguard, it is a complex and entertaining listen. John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman are reference points, but this is a loose, hand-drawn route, not an Ordnance Survey map.
 
Dibango is near seven minutes worth of beauty. A tribute to the legendary Cameroonian jazz saxophonist Manu Dibango, it features Lovano harmonising with himself on aulochrome, a double soprano sax complete with a keyboard. Closer Ettenro (spell it backwards) is a suitably abstract yet sufficiently gentle end to this sweetly complex album.
 The nine original compositions of Folk Art underline what a treasure to the jazz world Lovano remains. The young cats are providing exactly the appropriate stimulus to the sax legend. With one eye over his shoulder, these players are making him blow hard and hot.