Stretch Music is Christian Scott’s sixth solo studio album, by my count, and his most satisfying and impressive statement to date. He has described his output as ‘stretch’ music for a number of years now. “We are attempting to stretch—not replace—jazz’s rhythmic, melodic and harmonic conventions to encompass as many musical forms/languages/cultures as we can,” he explains on his website. “This belief has compelled me to attempt to create a sound that is genre blind in its acculturation of other musical forms, languages, textures, conventions and processes.”
We have heard elements of this approach from Scott as far back as Rewind That (2006) and Anthem (2007), the latter incorporating elements of hip-hop on the title track. But it seemed to become more defined as a concept on Yesterday, You Said Tomorrow (2010), where he incorporated elements of ‘alternative’ music – whatever that means – into the New Orleans, jazz and funk brew that has always been a part of his playing. The Eraser from that album, composed by Thom Yorke of Radiohead, offers perhaps the best example of the direction he was heading in.
Scott has assembled a new band to develop this concept. Elena Pinderhughes plays a prominent role on flute, and is joined on the front line by Braxton Cook on alto and Corey King on trombone. Lawrence Fields plays keyboards, often treated heavily on this album, and to good effect, whilst Warren Wolf plays the more traditional vibraphone. Matthew Stevens, who also appeared on Christian aTunde Adjuah (2012), plays guitar. Kris Funn plays bass, alternating between warm and earthy, and downright funky. But perhaps the most ground-breaking element on the new album are the drums and percussion. Joe Dyson Jr. plays a pan-African drum kit, which offers more vibration than a traditional kit, and these vibrations are paired with samples triggered by SPD-SX pads, which are a regular feature of hip-hop. A second drummer, Corey Fonville, plays a traditional drum kit.
The opening track, Sunrise In Beijing, shows off the new sound to good effect, opening with heavily treated piano before the startling drumming commences, almost like a modern day drum ‘n’ bass. When we hear the trumpet and flute pierce through the skittering beats, it reminds us that underneath the noise and pollution of a city like Beijing, there is still an underlying beauty. The result is music that is beautiful and exhilarating at the same time.
Twin boasts a more African drum sound, accompanied by handclaps, with Scott and Cook sharing the lead, giving the song a more traditional New Orleans flavour. Towards the end the song breaks down, but this is a false ending, and Dyson Jr. returns with some rousing drum work to bring the tune to a close.
Scott plays a muted trumpet on Perspectives, which shimmers like an early evening sunset. His solo is gorgeous here, and reminds me of his splendid work on Marcus Miller’s Tutu Revisited (2011).
West Of The West opens with some burning guitar from Matthew Stevens. With both drummers in action, Fields switching to electronic keyboards, and the horn section playing with fire and intensity, it sounds like an updated version of Miles Davis’s On The Corner – but is more cohesive in its execution.
There’s more of a world music feel to Liberation Over Gangsterism, which sees Scott and Pinderhughes play off one another over the chattering percussion. The Corner and Runnin In 7s are more sketches than tunes, but both work well in their own right. The former opens with a powerful bass line by Funn, who is soon joined by a simple drum line, before Cook takes a brief but powerful solo over the funky rhythm. Runnin In 7s is all about drums and percussion, and provides a short but thrilling interlude.
Of A New Cool is perhaps the closest thing to more traditional modern jazz, with Funn contributing a deliciously funky bass line, whilst The Last Chieftain sees Scott playing a more traditional jazz solo, and playing with a fiery intensity.
So how does ‘stretch’ music differ from so many of the other ‘crossover’ albums that we hear in jazz these days? ‘Crossover’, of course, is a somewhat loaded term in itself. It can refer to jazz musicians incorporating elements of other sounds into their playing, from electronics to classical, hip-hop to R’n’B. Those elements can be subtle, or see the artist cross over almost completely into another genre – as we saw with Robert Glasper on his Black Radio albums - in a good way - or Diana Krall’s slide into easy listening – which was not so good. Scott has clearly sought out musicians that are ‘genre blind’, to use his own phrase, and whilst that could result in an album that is disjointed, it has not. Stretch Music throws a number of genres into a melting pot, and the result is an amazing stew, bursting with flavours and sounds – that does away with traditional jazz themes and solos, and leaves you feeling excited about what the future might hold. It’s that good.
