Willie Morris

Attentive Listening

Posi -Tone

Saxophonist and composer Willie Morris returns with his second album, Attentive Listening, just six months after his debut, Conversation Starter, which we covered here in August 2023. As stated then, Morris is not only a master of his instrument and an impassioned player, but his compositional skills are quite impressive. Here Morris again teams with label mate, altoist and flutist Patrick Cornelius and pianist Jon Davis. The Posi-Tone stalwart rhythm team of bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston round out the quintet. Morris composed five originals, in fact the first five. Cornelius and Davis each contributed two and there is a cover of Kenny Dorham’s “La Mesha.”

Morris articulates a theme that should resonate loudly in our current smart phone, multi-tasking obsessed condition. We can often be laser focused, or myopically driven to the exclusion of listening carefully to others, or even to other things that may be occurring in our environment. It’s a high-level way of also stating the importance of group interplay, yet each of at least his compositions delve very deeply into listening and various means of learning.  “Water Fountain of Youth” is a vibrant composition with a focused unison head before parting for fervent, fluid solos from Morris, Cornelius, and Davis. The theme is a double-edged sword in that youth have a one-track mind, which can be frustrating for those around them but envied as one gets older and becomes easily prone to distraction. “Terminal Lucidity,” is a rarely discussed concept where there is an unexpected return to consciousness just shortly before dying. Think about it. You’ve probably witnessed it in the passing of a parent or loved one.  As such, the theme begins in low register, somber tones with points of clarity emerging in the solos, especially Davis’s. Morris also likens it to reflecting reminiscing on beauty one may have missed during the time it occurred due to being too preoccupied.

Tempo ratchets up for “The Imitation Game,” essaying one of the earliest ways of learning. In this case the quintet morphs from a bebop mode into more free expression as the piece evolves, signifying a call to action for finding one’s own voice beyond mere imitation or conformity. The solos of Cornelius and Morris take the bebop motif into far more exploratory territory propelled by the rhythm section. “To Worlds Unknown” is a mid-tempo tune that’s an extension of “Water Fountain of Youth,” meant to describe the many opportunities and experiences that shape us.  As such, Morris reaches all keys and tones of his tenor in his expressive solo while Cornelius takes a more inquisitive stance, as indicated by the start-stop, staccato elements in his otherwise liquid runs. The last of the Morris pieces is “Delusion of Understanding,” a hard bop excursion where he is the sole saxophone voice, about trying to explain everything in logical or rational terms to the exclusion of the emotional or spiritual. Again, the percussive, but thoughtfully rambling piano statement from Davis impresses.

“Leaving Paradise,” penned by Cornelius who weaves the melody on the alto flute, captures the airy, refreshed, rejuvenating feeling one feels after returning from a successful vacation, in this case apparently a tropical one given Royston’s percussion accompaniment. The harmonic blend between the flute and tenor toward the end of the piece is a clear album highlight. Cornelius also contributes “Et Tu, Caribou,” a rhythmically challenging, update tune featuring a series of exchanges between the alto and tenor, that certainly requires concentrated listening to enable each to respond in kind to the other’s statement in brisk, advanced call-and-response dialogue.

Jon Davis authored “Moving Right Along,” revealing his Monk-like angularity with a repetitive melody that takes on deeper colors in each refrain while his closer, “Daly Minor Blues,” originally intended for the full quintet, became a duet between he and Morris as the tape was rolling during rehearsal. As such it provides an intimate view of the styles of each, with both deeply immersed in the blues, and Morris blending the kind of style we associate with soul-blues tenors such as Stanley Turrentine, Gene Ammons, and the like with his own trademark sinuous clusters. Morris has often stated that his main mentor is Joe Henderson, to whom he pays homage with a sublimely gorgeous rendering of Kenny Dorham’s “La Mesha,” the album’s lone cover.

Morris continues to build his reputation as one of the profound emerging tenors and composers of these times.

• Jim Hynes

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