Joe Lovano has been sufficiently forward-looking to have earned the right to look backward on his 22nd album for Blue Note Records, marking his 20th anniversary with the label.
Bird Songs presents songs associated with, written for, and, primarily, written by
Bird,
Charlie "Yardbird" Parker.
Lovano employs his group Us Five, which includes pianist James Weidman, bassist
Esperanza Spalding, and two drummers, Otis Brown III and
Francisco Mela.
Lovano himself plays tenor saxophone for the most part, not alto, which
Parker did. That's an immediate hint to his approach. These may be
Bird songs, but they are not played the way
Bird played them.
Lovano and crew tend to slow them down and consider them, as if appending musical footnotes; if
Parker was the quintessential bebop player, this is a determinedly post-bop interpretation. Of course, the instrumentation has a lot to do with it, especially the busy clatter set up by the two drummers. The sound is spare enough to give
Lovano plenty of room to explore
Parker's themes or, in "Lover Man," to reconsider
Parker's treatment of a standard. It all comes together in the 12-minute "Yardbird Suite" at the end, which affords both Weidman and
Spalding room for their own statements. It's not surprising that
Lovano, born the year before
Charlie Parker died, would be so thoroughly familiar with his work and so willing to redefine it. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
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