REVIEW 'Bird Songs' Boston Globe

Monday January 10, 2011

From the Boston Globe

Joe Lovano / Us Five, ‘Bird Songs’
By Steve Greenlee

Saxophonist Joe Lovano has tried on a lot of bands and formats since joining the Blue Note label 20 years ago — duos, trios, quartets, big bands, near-classical ensembles. But his current quintet, Us Five, may be his finest. The band — which features pianist James Weidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding, and drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela — put out the spectacular “Folk Art’’ in 2009, and now they serve up “Bird Songs,’’ a collection inspired by the work of Charlie Parker. But this is no mere tribute album. Parker’s compositions are not played as he intended (speedily, with torrents of notes); Lovano upends them, infusing them with modern sensibilities. Mostly they are slowed down, which gives the musicians room to roam beneath the chords and rhythms. “Blues Collage,’’ is a jazz mash-up: Lovano, Weidman, and Spalding each play a different Parker tune at the same time, intertwining the melodies into a new song altogether. Lovano says the idea for this project began when Us Five performed in Barbados and broke out a new arrangement of Parker’s “Barbados,’’ one with a Caribbean vibe. The tune is full of enthusiasm, and its ethos — finding something new to say through something familiar — encapsulates why Lovano is now jazz royalty.

Read the entire review here

Barbados	6:20	Joe Lovano
Birdyard	1:48	Joe Lovano
Passport	5:27	Joe Lovano

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Sound Prints EPK
Joe Master Class Video
*Bird Songs EPK
Folk Art EPK

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