Label: Self Released
Moxie is both an extension of tenor saxophonist Jessica Jones'
previous work and a glimpse back to an earlier point in her career: she
continues to explore the possibilities inherent in a piano-less quartet
with a two-tenor front line while reuniting with a rhythm duo that she
worked with in the '80s—bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Kenny Wolleson.
The music that she makes here, with that team and fellow tenor/husband
Tony Jones, is predictably unpredictable, grounded yet far-reaching, and
irresistibly intriguing in its unfolding.
The album opens with
the true-to-name title track—a funky and off-kilter composition that
periodically dissolves, only to be brought right back to form with a
swiftly executed rhythmic figure. The tenors move along with a
combination of patience and attitude, enhancing the underlying feel with
there cool-headed, hot-blooded moves. "In A Sentimental Mood" follows,
both lining up with and defying expectations. The song largely adheres
to its well-worn melodic and harmonic paths, but, thanks in large part
to the way the rhythm section dissects the beat, it's subtly reborn in
three.
Headier sounds appear on the Jones-Jones penned "Haitian
Cotillion," a number that's both insistent and open in its delivery.
It's the first piece to really highlight this group's penchant for free
thought married to rhythmic specificity. The follow-up—"Soft
Target"—looks at the same topic from a different angle. It opens in
uncertain lands, but the tenors soon find their footing(s) atop
Wolleson's steady eighth note groove. They're free to roam around as his
drums and Takeishi's rubbery bass lines hold things in place.
The second half of the album starts with Tony Jones' "Dear Toy"—a sonic
search for meaning—and closes with three numbers from the leader's pen:
"The Clapping Song," an odd-metered vehicle that opens on a Takeishi
solo over handclaps before settling into the saddle; "Tag On A Train," a
piece that coalesces, confounds, and then connects on a deep spiritual
level; and "Manhattattan," a cheery sendoff with some surprising twists
of form. It's the perfect ending to a program that's both unrestrained
and structurally sound.
1. Moxie 07:35
2. In a Sentimental Mood 06:10
3. Haitian Cotillion 08:40
4. Soft Target 05:54
5. Dear Toy 05:06
6. Clapping Game 06:42
7. Tag on a Train 06:40
8. Manhattattan 05:28
Jessica Jones, sax
Tony Jones, sax
Stomu Takeishi, bass
Kenny Wollesen, drums
