Yellowjackets

Fasten Up

Mack Avenue

Fasten Up is the astounding 27^th album from the original jazz-rock fusion band transformed to practically genreless, The Yellowjackets, who continue to endure through four decades plus. Yes, the lineup has changed over the years, but the current quartet has been intact for the last decade. The title may suggest an album of fast-paced fare, but the quartet is continually looking to expand their sonic palette. In other words, that’s another aspect of forward motion and forward thinking as the band leans on three of its four members to contribute compositions. In fact, of these eleven, just the opener, “Comin’ Home Baby,” owes to other writers. The current lineup is founding member, pianist and keyboardist Russell Ferrante, drummer Will Kennedy, who has logged to stints with the band totaling 27 years, saxophonist and EWI player Bob Mintzer in his 35^th year, and Australian-born bassist Dane Alderson, celebrating his first decade with the quartet. All but Kennedy are composers on this outing.

The band opens with the aforementioned opener penned by bassist Ben Tucker in the ’60s, with lyrics later added by Bob Dorough. This tune has been recorded by artists ranging from Herbie Mann to Mel Tormé to Quincy Jones in Mintzer’s arrangement, where he doubles on tenor and EWI, the latter resembling Mann’s flute parts. With Ferrante on acoustic piano, this is essentially straight-ahead soul-jazz, with the only electronic element being the EWI. On the other hand, Alderson’s title track is infused with Ferrante on Rhodes and keyboards as the bassist wields the P-bass along the lines of Herbie Hancock’s Thrust and Kennedy beats with the kind of fusion power we associate with Dave Weckl. Transport yourself back to the pioneering days of jazz fusion with this one. Continuing in a similar vein, Mintzer’s “Will Power” nods to drummer Kennedy with the tune centered on a simple vamp, as the Mintzer wields the EWI and the band takes the fusion route, this time a bit more ‘airy’ in delivery.

Ferrante contributes a sequence of three consecutive tunes. The flowing but at times disorienting due to its 11/8 time signature “November 8^th” finds the band back in a blend of acoustic and electronic, with Mintzer on tenor, Ferrante on piano, and Alderson on electric bass as he is throughout the album with touches of synths mixed in. It sets the stage for the gorgeous ballad, “The Truth of You,” revealing the band in its calmest demeanor with a yearning melody woven by both Mintzer or tenor and Ferrante on piano that will swim around in one’s head for days on end. On the infectious “The Lion,” Ferrante invites vocalist/guitarist Raul Midón, who deftly merges his guitar and wordless vocals into the tune along with Mintzer and Ferrante to enrich the glowing melody.

Mintzer counters with a consecutive threesome of his own. “Swingmeister General” is a tenor tour-de-force, with the title owing to Mintzer’s days working with the incomparable bassist Jaco Pastorius. Set aside those references for a second, though, and what emerges is a delightfully swinging tune. “An Interesting Dream” finds Mintzer spinning the melody on his flute-like-sounding EWI, recalling a vision of playing lead trumpet in a big band. Big band, by the way, is not a foreign concept to Mintzer, who has led the highly acclaimed German NDR Big Band. “Broken” moves away from the uplifting fare, as it aptly plays to staggered rhythms while seeming to be in an abstract way, a bleak commentary on the current divisive state of these times, with his ferocious tenor solo connoting anger as much as anything else. Ferrante picks up on this mood in the ominous “An Unresolved Question.” With dark chords and a languorous pace, we’re left in a pensive state while being treated to a rich, somewhat hypnotic melody.

Arguably, bassist Alderson is the one most immersed in the electronic soundscapes. His closer, “Xemeris,” fuses acoustic instruments with Kennedy’s insistent beats and MIDI programming that owes to artists such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. The title, though purposely ambiguous, could suggest Greek mythology or an astral constellation. It certainly rings with cosmic flair and points toward a more contemporary kind of fusion that has few trappings of the past.

The Yellowjackets prove beyond a doubt that they are far more than a contemporary/throwback fusion band. This is some of the most varied material they have presented on record. It makes for an intriguing listen.

– Jim Hynes

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