Steve Turre

Sanyas

Smoke Sessions

There is but one musician to whom we can apply the term seashellist. The renowned Steve Turre is also a renowned trombonist but his skills blowing various conches and shells sets him apart from the rest. Sanyas is his first live album as a leader, remarkable in that he’s been recording and performing for 50 years. Turre played with the legendary Rahsaan Roland Kirk and has been a vital member of the Saturday Night Live house band for four decades. He’s also been involved in some great live records including Live at the 6^th Tokyo Music Joy, the only recording between the art Ensemble of Chicago and Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, Dizzy Gillespie’s Live at the Royal Festival Hall, Mccoy Tyner’s Uptown/Downtown, his favorite, Woody Shaw’s Master of the Art, and more. For this date at Smoke Jazz Club, Turre assembled an elite sextet comprised of elder bassist and drummer Buster Williams and Lenny White respectively. Masterful trumpeter Nicholas Payton, versatile tenorist Ron Blake, and rising talent, pianist Isaiah J. Thompson.

The album has just five tracks, two lengthy compositions by Turre, one from Lee Morgan, and two standards. The opening title track is one of Turre’s first compositions, harking back to his tenure with Woody Shaw, and appearing on Shaw’s 1975 The Moontrane. He later reprised the piece on his own 1991 Right There. Although the name comes from a Hindu practice, Turre was inspired by the bright orange robes worn by the Sanyasi, monks who have renounced materialism. Turre often wears colorful shirts or jackets when performing. A powerful blast for the three horn frontline initiates the piece, ceding first to a riveting bass excursion by Williams. The sextet resumes the 5/4-time signature in this modal piece with a repetitive vamp, leading to Turre’s trombone solo, which bookends Blake’s fierce tenor spot with a turn on the shells, coaxing other worldly sounds from his array of a dozen or so.

The arrangement of “All the Things You Are” quickens the tempo, employing a start-top rhythm helmed by White. Each horn improvises a solo around the tune’s endearing melody, beginning with Turre probing and exploring, Blake running free with his fluid clusters, and Payton developing a convivial conversation with the vibrant rhythm section that he builds into his trademark stratospheric lines. The horns retreat for a trio rendering highlighted by Thompson’s bright, nimble pianism, before White leads the ensemble to a volcanic finale.

Turre’s “Wishful Thinking” is a gorgeous ballad with the leader establishing an elegant demeanor which in turn, Payton follows. Thompson demonstrates his versatility with his delicate touch as White turns to the brushes. Turre returns with a Harmon mute, delivering a rather unique trombone sound. Thompson, still only in mid-twenties, holds court with these veterans, sounding not the least bit intimidated.  That distinctive soul-jazz groove of Lee Morgan underpins his “Mr. Kenyatta,” triggering fiery turns from Payton, Turre, and then Blake before the leader conducts a mind-blowing clinic on the shells with sounds ranging from flute-like to trumpet-like, and, of course, trombone-like. The CD contains a bonus track, the standard “These Foolish Things” highlighted by Turre’s remarkable use of the plunger in his solo as well as sprightly turns from Thompson and Williams.

This is a can’t lose lineup who marry tradition with daring improvisation. It’s the essence of live jazz, so effective that we’re left wondering what took Turre so long to cut a live record.

• Jim Hynes

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