Russell Gunn - Young Gunn Plus

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:41
Size: 165,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:07)  1. East St. Louis
(5:36)  2. Fly Me To The Moon
(7:03)  3. Wade In The Water
(2:38)  4. D.J.
(6:58)  5. You Don't Know What Love Is
(5:18)  6. The Concept
(6:40)  7. The Message
(4:30)  8. There Is No Greater Love
(8:55)  9. Blue Gene
(4:04) 10. Pannonica
(3:54) 11. The Beach
(2:27) 12. Bronwyn
(7:26) 13. Ginger Bread Boy

Recorded in 1994 when young lion Russell Gunn was a mere 23 years old, the Muse album Young Gunn is a quintet session with tenor saxophonist Sam Newsome, pianist John Hicks, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Cecil Brooks III. This 32 Jazz reissue adds three tracks with a different quintet. Coming from a background that like that of many younger jazz artists, Russell Gunn learned the trumpet in elementary school, enjoyed and benefited from public school instrumental programs, and allowed his musical interests to range far and wide. That he attended the same high school as Miles Davis shows up in Gunn's pretty ballad tone. His experience includes avant-garde work with Oliver Lake, Wynton Marsalis' Blood On The Fields, and Branford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFonque. A more recent recording, Gunn Fu on the High Note label, teams the trumpeter with tenor saxophonist Greg Tardy and flutist Sherman Irby. The ballads "You Don't Know What Love Is," "There Is No Greater Love," and "Fly Me to the Moon" present straight-ahead mainstream jazz and feature Gunn's lyrical trumpet. "Pannonica," presented as a trumpet-piano duet, offers yet another opportunity to appreciate Gunn's sensitive trumpet tone and manner. The leader's compositions "East St. Louis" and "The Message" represent hard bop ideas with "outside" or avant-garde stretches. The quintet is tight and burns accordingly. "The Concept" invites guest rap artist Chef Word to relate the biographical tale of Russell Gunn's change in focus from everyone's music to jazz. The syncopated hip-hop lyrics include: "Son of a gun.Old socks, new shoes,Feels kinda like the bluesWith the fat groove.Runnin' the bustos, crush fo's,Chef Word and Russ-o, go with all the gusto.He used to be your MC before we ever played a keister,Got the love as he evolved musically.Straight-ahead, see, as we swing." Branford Marsalis replaces Sam Newsome on the final three tracks. Recorded in 1995, the additional pieces employ a different piano trio as well, but Gunn is in fine form. He and Marsalis present a fiery hard bop take of Jimmy Heath's "Ginger Bread Boy" that includes solos from all. Recommended. ~ Jim Santella https://www.allaboutjazz.com/young-gunn-plus-russell-gunn-32-records-review-by-jim-santella.php

Personnel:  Russell Gunn: trumpet; Sam Newsome, Branford Marsalis: tenor sax; John Hicks, James Hurt: piano; Peter Washington, Eric Revis: bass; Cecil Brooks III, Ali Jackson: drums; Chef Word (Derek Washington): rap on "The Concept."

Young Gunn Plus

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Russell Gunn - Mood Swings

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:52
Size: 116,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:50)  1. The Injuns
(6:30)  2. Park Avenue Petite
(7:36)  3. African Queen
(3:41)  4. S. Crib
(6:32)  5. Night And Day
(6:47)  6. Mood Swings
(6:57)  7. I'll Close My Eyes
(4:47)  8. Blues To Lee
(4:08)  9. Twice Around

At first, it might seem like a calculated stylistic detour hot young hip-hop-influenced trumpeter teams up with a Hammond organ player (Radam Schwartz) who's equally fresh but strictly from the old school. But 2003's Mood Swings is not Wynton Marsalis-style dilettante posing of the "I remember Jimmy Smith" variety; there is nothing retro or nostalgic about this album, although it's firmly rooted in '60s-style organ combo jazz and mostly draws from the hard bop songbook. The opening track, a frenetic 20-notes-a-second take on Donald Byrd's "The Injuns," is as forward-looking as anything Gunn has done. Although ballads like Benny Golson's weightless, lovely "Park Avenue Petite" allow Gunn to explore Miles Davis' gentle tonal palette, it's more aggressive performances like "S. Crib" and the downright funky "Twice Around" that really show off Gunn's abilities. ~ Stewart Mason https://www.allmusic.com/album/mood-swings-mw0000318983

Personnel: Russell Gunn (trumpet); Radam Schwartz (Hammond B-3 organ); Eric Johnson (guitar); Cecil Brooks III (drums)

Mood Swings

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Russell Gunn - Smokin Gunn

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:49
Size: 130,6 MB
Art: Front

( 3:43)  1. (From the Freedom Suite) The Paris Masses Begin / the San Domingo Masse
( 4:24)  2. Amnesia
( 5:01)  3. El's Kitchen
( 7:49)  4. Groid
( 5:26)  5. Yvette
( 8:59)  6. Memory of Waterford
( 8:12)  7. The Beeach
( 2:51)  8. Delfeayo's Dilemma
(10:21)  9. Crescent

Following 1999's hip-hop/jazz foray Ethnomusicology, Vol. 1, trumpeter Russell Gunn returns to straight-ahead jazz on Smokin Gunn, where he's joined by altoist Bruce Williams, pianist Marc Cary, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Terreon Gully. Compositionally, there's a distinct flavor of early Wynton Marsalis in Gunn's originals. One hears the influence of the elder trumpeter in the bashing, blistering tempo of "Groid," the modal changes of "Amnesia," and "The Beeach," and the odd phrase lengths of "El's Kitchen." Gunn even pays direct tribute to Marsalis with a brief trio rendition of "Delfeayo's Dilemma," a track off of Black Codes (From the Underground). The presence of Eric Revis, Branford Marsalis's bassist of choice at the time of this recording, makes the Marsalis connection even stronger. Gunn opens and closes the album with bold strokes, beginning with excerpts from his "Freedom Suite" (not to be confused with Sonny Rollins's) and ending with the Coltrane masterpiece "Crescent." (It's particularly refreshing to hear a trumpeter tackle something so closely identified with a tenor player.) But Smokin Gunn, despite its many highlights, falls short of being a major individual statement. That said, it's a very good way to encounter the hard-edged and inventive piano playing of Marc Cary. And anything with Terreon Gully at the drums is bound to swing like crazy. ~ David R.Adler https://www.allmusic.com/album/smokingunn-mw0000066429

Personnel: Russell Gunn (trumpet); Bruce Williams (alto saxophone); Marc Cary (piano); Eric Revis (bass); Terreon Gully (drums).

Smokin Gunn

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Russell Gunn - Ethnomusicology Vol.4 - Live in Atlanta

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:42
Size: 128,3 MB
Art: Front

( 0:39)  1. Sam Yi (spoken intro)
( 6:32)  2. Blue In Green
(11:11)  3. More Sybil's Blues
(13:09)  4. Summertime
( 7:59)  5. Lyne's Joint
(16:10)  6. Shiva The Destroyer

As an alternative to Wynton Marsalis, who steadfastly hangs onto the singular American Jazz Tradition and, granted, eloquently and skillfully keeps it alive through his playing, educating and entrepreneuring, trumpeter Russell Gunn has shown an unerring desire over the course of the past ten years to merge styles into a personal language that asserts jazz as the melting pot it truly is. As much as Gunn has proven himself to be a capable hard and post bop player on early albums including Young Gunn and Gunn Fu, it has been with his not altogether consistent but always searching series of Ethnomusicology recordings where he has shown his true colours. Blending hip hop, soul, blues, traditional jazz forms, rock and more, Ethnomusicology Vol. 4: Live in Atlanta shows that diverse elements can blend into a cogent and cohesive whole that is truly greater than the sum of its disparate parts. Opening the set with a dramatic reading of the Bill Evans/Miles Davis classic "Blue in Green," Gunn segues from the rubato introduction of the theme into an up-tempo samba that would have fit well in the early, Latin-based Return to Forever. Rocky Bryant's energetic drum solo leads into a fitful electric trumpet excursion from Gunn that segues into "More Sybil's Blues," which starts as a rocking feature for guitarist Carl Burnett's Albert Collins-inflected lines before shifting into a soulful vamp that nods more than a little to Miles' '80s bands, before returning to another blues-drenched, Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque solo from Burnett.

"Summertime" starts at a surprising clip, the band vamping for nearly three minutes before Gunn's wah-wah trumpet pulls the theme out of its up-tempo funkiness and draws it down into a moving solo piano segment by Nick Rolfe which demonstrates that, as stylistically broad as the group can be, the essence of the jazz tradition is never too far away. But it doesn't last long before the rhythm section is back and turntablist D.J. Neil Armstrong is bringing a hip hop element into the mix. "Lynne's Joint" is a schizophrenic tune that blends a soulful theme with a rhythm section that combines spacious simplicity with a busier urban edge. Gunn has come under no uncertain degree of heat for his unapologetically cosmopolitan approach. Purists are quick to dismiss it as something other than jazz, while supporters see it as a logical progression, a natural evolution. Whether or not one subscribes to Gunn's concept, there is no doubt that he is an extremely talented player with a specific vision that has been consistently developing over the course of the last decade. And he surrounds himself with capable players who clearly understand the history and the future of jazz. Pariah or visionary, Gunn deserves respect for finding his direction and following it with determination, passion and zeal. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ethnomusicology-vol-4-live-in-atlanta-russell-gunn-justin-time-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Russell Gunn (electric trumpet, flugelhorn), Nick Rolfe (piano, fender rhodes, keyboards), Carlos Henderson (electric bass), Carl Burnett (electric guitar), Kahlil Kwame Bell (percussion), Rocky Bryant (drums), D.J. Neil Armstrong (turntables)

Ethnomusicology Vol.4 - Live in Atlanta

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Russell Gunn - Ethnomusicology Vol 3

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:30
Size: 104,3 MB
Art: Front

(0:47)  1. Celebrity Room Intro
(4:12)  2. No Separation
(2:54)  3. The Critic's Song
(6:04)  4. Variations (on a conspiracy theory)
(5:45)  5. East St. Louis
(7:06)  6. John Wicks
(7:35)  7. Yesterdays
(4:03)  8. Strange Fruit
(7:00)  9. Stranger Fruit

Russell Gunn has a problem with critics but only the ones who don't like his music. The third track on this record makes this point more than abundantly clear. And it's pure hypocrisy. Regardless, I'm afraid I'll have to join this elite group. Gunn's last record (Vol. 2) was a brilliant blending of jazz with hip-hop, funk and other styles. Vol. 3 has crossed the line into pure indulgence and fallen off the edge. A few inspired combinations drown among a heap of tunes ripe with cliche. Suffice to say that the last record is the one to check out. Maybe it's time to quit the series? Give Gunn credit for holding true to his credo that "labels divide, separate." Indeed, his vision is founded on the idea that jazz as a pure entity is naked. When you put improvisation in the context of hip-hop, funk, rap, Latin, and other multifarious so-called "urban" styles, it develops an empowering energy. The point at which it acquires the greatest vigor is when it is tossed in the blender and scrambled. That idea works very well when the other items which go into the mix are clever, but it's critically dependent on the ingredients. One thing so-called "popular" culture celebrated here as a partner to improvisationhas unfortunately absorbed is the nagging influence of mass marketing and homogenization; Vol. 3 displays an unfortunate inability to discriminate product from culture, despite its heated and outspoken rhetoric to the contrary. "No Separation" (with the central message) builds instrumental improvisation (mostly vibes and trumpet) upon a rhythmic foundation that plods roughly through fuzzy hip-hop grooves. Scratches dot the landscape; there's a real drummer instead of a machine. But ironically the tune betrays its message. It sounds like we've heard it a hundred times before. Likewise with "The Critic's Song," which has an perky groove driven upward by keyboards voiced something like electric guitars. Kids rap brightly on, getting to the point that "real artists don't give a fuck about you"... you directed at unenthusiastic critics but also anyone, really. (What happens when you really liked the last album but hate the new one? Maybe that opinion doesn't matter if you're an artist. Hmmm.) Despite earlier errors in judgment, I won't return the favor. It's a good idea, kids and the rap and the groove, but it's just not executed right. The problem lies in the ingredients. They're cliche. At some point you realize that, other than the improvisation, the rest of the music hits you where you've been hit too many times already. Later points of departure include a slow-jam ballad with more vibes and horns; four-to-the-floor dance beats accompanied by chord changes and a big band orchestration; an interesting ambient drone-like eastern soul tune; and a painfully cheesy and outdated '70s synth ballad, complete with spare drums, bells, and floating keyboard textures. When Gunn steps to the fore as a player rather than a "composer," he shines. He has a remarkable ability to coax a wide range of emotions from the trumpet, including a spectrum of electronic effects. It's a shame this talent has gone to waste in an environment that suffocates its freshness. ~ AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ethnomusicology-vol-3-russell-gunn-justin-time-records-review-by-aaj-staff.php

Personnel: Russell Gunn: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Keyboards, Electric Trumpet. With Oliver Lake, Rocky Bryant, Marc Cary, Vincent Chancey, Gary Noble, Carl Burnett, Stefon Harris, James Hurt, Antoine Drye, Nick Rolfe, Duane Eubanks, Carlos Henderson, Dana Murray, Kahlil Kwame Bell, Kebbi Williams, DJ Neil Armstrong, Todd Britt, Kenny "Blue" Campbell, Montez Coleman.

Ethnomusicology Vol 3

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Russell Gunn - Ethnomusicology Vol 2

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:31
Size: 153,7 MB
Art: Front

( 2:04)  1. Intro (A.K.A... I Think I Love You)
( 6:29)  2. Epistrophy
( 5:57)  3. Del Rio (A.K.A. Anita)
( 8:18)  4. Dance of the Concubine
( 6:08) 5. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Go-Go- Swing)
( 1:14)  6. Kebbi Williams Interlude
( 5:13)  7. I Wish
( 6:47)  8. Caravan
( 9:12)  9. Lyne's Joint
(15:04) 10. Outro

Trumpeter Russell Gunn demonstrated a very personal vision of jazz fusion on the first volume in this series, which generated a lot of media interest and earned him a Grammy nomination. He continues along the same vein with Ethnomusicology, Vol. 2, a fine showcase for his manifold crossover interests. It's too easy to dismiss this music as lightweight or trivial. Gunn is serious about his work, and there's ample evidence on Ethnomusicology, Vol. 2 to prove the point. His interpretation of Monk's "Epistrophy," for example, blows the original apart. Building layers of piano vamp, guitar pulse, bass bop, scratching, and hip-hop lyrics, this piece eventually settles into a harmonized statement of the theme on the horns. The foundations lay down a laid-back groove while Gunn takes his opportunity to solo convincingly on top. One tune later, on "Del Rio," he invades Afro-Latin rhythms with a Cubanized theme. It's all part of Gunn's extended continuum, which includes Go-Go swing piano ("It Don't Mean a Thing"), free improv ("Kebbi Williams Interlude"), Afro-Cuban dance music ("Del Rio"), understated Brazillian cool ("Dance of the Concubine"), hip-hop attitude ("Epistrophy"), and airtight funk ("Caravan"). Only the soul ballads "I Wish" and "Lyne's Joint" sag a bit at times, rearing the ugly head of smooth jazz. Gunn has come up with a beautiful blend of styles, and it's remarkable that his group can stretch to fit each niche. Much of that effect comes from the efforts of multi-talented pianist Marc Cary and versatile drummer Woody Williams. But guitarist Carl Burnett lends some critical support, and the other horns play important roles both as support and lead. One has the sense from listening to Ethnomusicology, Vol. 2 that these musicians had a lot of fun putting this record together. Adding to this spirit, the pictures of band members all feature images from early childhood. But make no mistake: Gunn is at the helm, and his vision is what keeps everyone together. Like the best kind of fusion, this record comes off like it was put together effortlessly. Everyone gets a chance to stretch out and have some fun. Hardly by accident, though. Don't dismiss Russell Gunn: he's a man with some interesting ideas. Check this disc out. ~ AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ethnomusicology-vol-2-russell-gunn-justin-time-records-review-by-aaj-staff.php

Personnel: Russell Gunn: trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, fender rhodes, keyboards; Gunn Fu: vocals; Andre Heyward: trombone; Kebbi Williams: tenor saxophone; Marc Cary: piano, fender rhodes; Carl Burnett: guitar; Lonnie Plaxico: acoustic bass; Woody Williams: drums; D.J. Apollo: turntables. Special guests: Sherman Irby: flute, alto saxophone; Shedrick Mitchell: piano; Tony Suggs: keyboards.

Ethnomusicology  Vol  2

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Russell Gunn - Ethnomusicology Vol 1

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:35
Size: 128,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. 74 Miles Away - Intro
(7:55)  2. Shiva
(7:52)  3. Sybil's Blues
(0:24)  4. Dj Apollo Interlude
(6:41)  5. Woody 1 : On The New Ark
(7:06)  6. The Blackwidow Blues
(6:02)  7. Doll
(6:44)  8. Folkz
(1:04)  9. Andre Heyward Interlude
(7:17) 10. Mr Hurt

Few attempts at a jazz and hip hop union have ever been successful or satisfying. Maybe it's one school's inability to understand the other or the problematic potential of getting two such different audiences in the same room. But, somehow, the maverick 28-year-old trumpeter Russell Gunn has made it work with Ethnomusicology, one of the finest and most original jazz documents to come along in some time. On this, his first Atlantic set, Gunn departs distinctively from his previous Muse and High Note releases, coupling his protean roar with hard-funk rhythms, electric instrumentation and even DJ Apollo's turntables. Most startling of all, though, is how traditional and timeless it all sounds: like jazz modes and bop phrasing filtered through r & b rhythms and hip hop stylization (mercifully not the reverse, which ruins any good attempt). But consider that Gunn's résumé includes contributions to both Wynton Marsalis's opera Blood on The Fields and the funk of brother Branford's diametrically opposed Buckshot LeFonque. And while he's held court (and his own) with legends like James Moody and Jimmy Heath, Gunn grew up idolizing L.L. Cool J and has gone on to record hits with Maxwell and Lou Reed. So nothing about Ethnomusicology should surprise. Still, it does. It's thoroughly invigorating and inviting. Consistently, throughout, Gunn explores the jazz tradition with insight and reverence and through his masterful delivery comes up with something that has plenty of street credibility too.

Appropriately, Gunn introduces his concept with Joe Zawinul's "74 Miles Away" (originally performed by Cannonball Adderley, who, with Woody Shaw, seems to steer Gunn's jazz approach here). Replete with a P-Funk-style helium sermonette ("all that's required is an open mind and two ears"), "74 Miles Away" is especially notable for a delicious taste of the trumpeter's ever elegant phrasing. It is Gunn's gift for melody which is often most memorable as the beats rescind or disappear altogether, as on the lovely and hit-worthy ballad "Doll," a feature for Gunn's flugelhorn and Special EFX-man Chieli Minucci's guitar.

But it is the muscular rhythms and aggressive funk that most dominate Ethnomusicology. Sample the relentless ostinatos of the modal "Folkz" or the Indian drone of "Shiva," both fine features for the commanding horns of Gregory Tardy, Bruce Williams and Andre Heyward. Gunn's conceptions reach sonic perfection in no small measure to the awesome powers of his like-minded rhythm section: James Hurt on piano, Rodney Jordan on bass and, most especially, the diversely imaginative drummer Woody Williams. They are especially noteworthy on the disc's best tracks: the razor-sharp Cannonball funk of "Sybil's Blues" (featuring a brief chat on the blues from, of all people, Wynton Marsalis!), the surprisingly straight-forward yet danceable (!) cover of Woody Shaw's "Woody 1: On The New Ark" (from Shaw's neglected 1979 masterwork, Woody III ) and Branford Marsalis's "The Blackwidow Blues," beautiful bop that would make Art Blakey proud (even as it samples Jeru the Damaja's "Da Bichez"!). Having just noticed all the exclamations used above, it's worth noting that Ethnomusicology is brimming with such arresting punctuation. Gunn may have been intending dancefloor fluff or, more likely, an electric redux on straight-ahead jazz. But he's crafted something more substantial that might actually serve to bridge the gap between the old and the new as we transition into jazz's second century. Ethnomusicology is quite an achievement. ~ Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ethnomusicology-volume-1-russell-gunn-atlantic-jazz-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Players: Russell Gunn: trumpet, flugelhorn, organ bass, Vox, Human Beatbox, tambourine; Gregory Tardy: tenor sax, flute, bass clarinet; Bruce Williams: alto sax, e flat clarinet, cowbell; Andre Heyward: trombone; Chieli Minucci: guitar; James Hurt: piano, Fender Rhodes, organ; Rodney Jordan: bass; Woody Williams: drums; Khalil Kwame Bell: percussion; DJ Apollo: turntables.

Ethnomusicology  Vol 1

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Russell Gunn - Love Stories

Styles: Trumpet Jazz

Year: 2008

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 56:20

Size: 129,4 MB

Art: Front

(5:08)  1. Love Requiem

(6:04)  2. All You Need Is Love

(5:52)  3. Because I Love You (The Stalker Song)

(6:31)  4. I'm in Love With a Stripper

(6:10)  5. Bitch, You Don't Love Me

(5:01)  6. Love Me in a Special Way

(5:09)  7. Love for Sale

(8:27)  8. Ghandi's Love

(6:25)  9. He Loves Me

(1:29) 10. The Stalker Song - Alternate Ending

Love is strange, all right, and Love Stories is stranger still. Hardly a bouquet of ballads, the album is inspired by “love in all its dysfunction,” as trumpeter Russell Gunn explains in David R. Adler’s revealing liner notes. But don’t leap to logical conclusions. Gunn also points out that “Because I Love You (The Stalker Song)” and “Bitch, You Don’t Love Me” aren’t the residue of some soured love affair. The former has more to do with Hitchcock-ian atmospherics than heartbreak, apparently, and the latter, notes Gunn, is “basically a song about being used. For me, more than anything it means the music business.” The album’s overarching theme and hip-hop-inspired production allows Gunn a lot of creative latitude. For openers, the trumpeter reinvents “Love Requiem,” a previously recorded original composition, before unveiling arrangements of pop tunes that reflect his broad musical tastes without sounding contrived or congested. A prime example of how deftly he juggles vintage and contemporary sounds is the go-go-triggered “Love for Sale,” featuring vocalist Heidi Martin. Primarily acting as conceptualist on this collection, Gunn nevertheless plays some fine trumpet and flugelhorn: blue-toned on “All You Need Is Love,” appropriately noir-ish on the aforementioned “Stalker.” Meanwhile, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, keyboardist Orrin Evans, bassist Carlos Henderson, drummer Montez Coleman, percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell and others contribute to the album’s colorful textures and tangents. Perhaps more than a few fence-sitters out there on the jazz/hip-hop front may find themselves quickly falling for this imaginatively arranged and programmed session.~ Mike Joyce http://jazztimes.com/articles/21173-love-stories-russell-gunn

Personnel: Russell Gunn (trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards, drum programming); Heidi Martin (vocals); Mike Scott (guitar); Brian Hogans (alto saxophone); Kirk Whalum (tenor saxophone); Orrin Evans (piano, keyboards); Carlos Henderson (acoustic bass, electric bass, bass guitar); Montez Coleman (drums); Kahlil Kwame Bell (percussion).

Love Stories

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Russell Gunn - Plays Miles

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 52:06
Size: 85,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:20)  1. Tutu
(9:48)  2. Bitches Brew
(6:38)  3. Blue In Green
(7:24)  4. Footprints
(5:58)  5. Nardis
(5:45)  6. All Blues
(5:54)  7. Eighty One
(4:17)  8. New New Blues

Since introducing his hip hop/funk/fusion-centric Ethnomusicology series in 1999 culminating in Ethnomusicology Vol. 4: Live in Atlanta (Justin-Time, 2004)  forward-looking trumpeter Russell Gunn has alternated straight-ahead fare for HighNote like 2002's Blue on the D.L., with Ethnomusicology releases for a variety of labels. With Plays Miles, however, he finds clear common ground. Given his steadfast avoidance of labeling it's no surprise that Gunn is gradually moving towards a unified approach that brings together all of his diverse musical interests. There's no direct hip hop reference to be found here, but Gunn's tribute to musical paradigm shifter Miles Davis brings together post bop and fusion/funk in a remarkably integrated fashion. Most Miles tributes focus on one of the late trumpeter's many periods, but Gunn places material as old as the modal "All Blues and pensive "Blue in Green, from Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959), beside later material including the title tracks from Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969) and Tutu (Warner Bros., 1986). Gunn encyclopedically finds the common thread running through the icon's four decade-plus career. 

Gunn's economical penchant for melodic development has everything to do with Miles. His thick tone, however, and a harmonic approach more evolved from the styles of Booker Little and Lee Morgan, bears little reference to the trumpet icon, making this a tribute that truly speaks with its own voice. "Tutu is as inevitably funky as the original, but more open-ended and less sonically dated, with keyboardist Orrin Evans alternating between acoustic piano, Rhodes and synthesizer. Gunn's Elektrik Butterfly Band is a small affair, also featuring bassist Mark Kelley, drummer Montez Coleman and percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell, resulting in a more spacious sound that contrasts with the greater density that Miles began with Bitches Brew and continued, with rare exception, to the end of his life. It also allows for greater interaction and clearer delineation. There are plenty of surprises. Ron Carter's "Eighty One, from E.S.P. (Columbia, 1965), is given a brisk Latin reworking, with Kelley and Coleman almost relentlessly propulsive. Evans' intro to "Blue in Green suggests a mainstream approach until the rhythm section enters and it morphs into a soulful take that would have been completely in context with Miles' '80s work if it weren't for Evans' remaining on acoustic piano throughout. Afro-beat meets go-go on the group's version of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints, from Miles Smiles (Columbia, 1966), while "Nardis revolves around Kelley's loosely repetitive bass line and features Evans at his show-stopping best. Gunn has always been a bit like actor/director Woody Allen: there's no middle ground, you either love him or hate him. With Plays Miles he's finally created a record that's funky, energetic and contemporary enough to appeal to Ethnomusicology fans while not neglecting the mainstream tradition that admirers of his HighNote discs are looking for. Rather than being a compromise it's the most stylistically assimilated record of his career, and may well convert some of his naysayers into new devotees. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/plays-miles-russell-gunn-highnote-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Russell Gunn: trumpet, effects. The Elektrik Butterfly Band: Orrin Evans: keyboards; Mark Kelley: bass; Montez Coleman: drums; Kahlil Kwame Bell: percussion.

Plays Miles

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