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David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Wake Up Call '2017; 2019

24bit
Wake Up Call
ArtistDavid Weiss & Point Of Departure Related artists
Album name Wake Up Call
Country
Date 2017; 2019
GenreJazz
Play time 1:16:11
Format / Bitrate 24 BIT Stereo 1420 Kbps / 44.1 kHz
Media CD
Size 514; 899 MB
PriceDownload $7.95
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Tracks list

A re-consideration of the early fusion era with remarkable results.

(David Weiss – trumpet, Fender Rhodes (tracks 1, 5); Myron Walden
– tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 5-9); J.D. Allen – tenor saxophone
(tracks 2-4); Ben Eunson – guitar (solos on tracks 1, 5, 7, 9); Nir
Felder – guitar (tracks 2-4, solos on tracks 3-4); Travis Reuter –
guitar (tracks 1, 5-9, solos on tracks 6, 8); Matt Clohesy – bass; Kush
Abadey – drums)

Trumpeter, composer and band leader David Weiss has a wide-ranging
inquisitiveness and acquaintance with both modernistic, forward-seeking jazz and
early jazz-fusion. On the 76-minute Wake Up Call, Weiss’ latest album
with his ensemble Point of Departure, he showcases his uncanny ability to uncork
material which is not always well-known to jazz fans, but which brings to life
music which has an essence that goes beyond what is predictable. Notably, there
are no originals among the nine tracks on Wake Up Call, and yet Weiss has
managed to put compositions by John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson and
others into a cohesive and thematic whole. No easy feat to reinterpret other
musicians’ work and make it comfortably fit into a singular compendium.
Weiss slices his album into three sections: Prologue; Unfinished Business; and
New Beginning.

Weiss not only changes perceptions of other artists’ material, but he
alters his group’s line-up. Outgoing tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen is
heard on three cuts, while new tenor sax player Myron Walden is featured on six
numbers. Drummer Jamire Williams is gone; Kush Abadey now sits behind the drum
kit. Guitarist Nir Felder is on three tracks, while new guitarists Ben Eunson
and Travis Reuter are used on the remaining material. The one holdover is
bassist Matt Clohesy. This larger ensemble provides Weiss a broader sonic
palette, which he utilizes to his benefit on extended pieces (the shortest tune
is over five minutes in length, most are eight to 12 minutes long).

Weiss’ prologue employs McLaughlin’s “Sanctuary,” from
the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s 1973 LP, Birds of Fire. Weiss maintains
McLaughlin’s ominous expression but heightens the foreboding mannerisms
by stretching the arrangement to nearly ten minutes while supplying room for
Walden to deliver stinging sax notes, while Abadey sustains both a ticking and
an intensified rhythmic pulse. During “Sanctuary,” Eunson also
channels McLaughlin during his comprehensive solo shift. The middle chapter of
Weiss’ musical narrative, Unfinished Business, contains three tracks. Up
first is Shorter’s slightly obscure “Two Faced,” which comes
from Miles Davis’ compilation, Water Babies. Davis’ 1968 recording
(not issued until 1976) was early fusion: electric and acoustic instruments
balanced via a directional groove. Weiss abbreviates his version by six minutes,
but at 12:22 “Two Faced” still has lots of space to preserve a
continuum of groove, theme and subtle progression, and the way the band
gradually, inextricably escalates the tempo and enthusiasm is something to hear.
Allen and Weiss both offer encompassing solos. During the tune’s first
half, Weiss suggests Miles Davis’ tone and emotive conveyance. In the
second half, Allen takes over and displays his precise control and command of
his tenor sax. The remainder of Unfinished Business comprises two Charles Moore
tunes. Moore was part of Detroit’s 1960s-and-onward DIY artistic
community, and didn’t have much commercial success, which means his
“Multidirection” and “Noh Word” are probably unknown to
most listeners. The nearly-nine minute “Multidirection” has an
energy and conviction like “Two Faced,” but is more assertive and
insistent, while conserving a jazz-fusion affirmation. There is a quieter
momentum on “Noh Word,” where Allen and Weiss meld beautifully
together and then layer in supple soloing.

The New Beginning segment has five interpretations, and this is where Weiss
pulls the band into some stimulating musical pathways. A must-hear is
Henderson’s “Gazelle,” where Walden blows up a storm. This is
Henderson before his funk period, and as such, it’s a track which pushes
into bop and neo-bop territory with great results. Kudos to Weiss for presenting
this and introducing it to a new audience. Weiss revisits Detroit jazz roots
with Kenny Cox’s “Sojourn.” Cox, like Moore, is another
artist who remains little known to current jazz fans. “Sojourn” is
prime post-bop/pre-fusion. Two of Tony Williams’ pieces, “Pee
Wee” and “The Mystic Knights of the Sea,” are also part of the
New Beginning portion. Weiss transforms “Pee Wee” from the
modulated, modal tune on Miles Davis’ 1967 LP, Sorcerer, and into a
sometimes-boisterous workout fronted by Eunson’s declamatory guitar.
“The Mystic Knights of the Sea” is another one which Weiss unearthed
and big thanks for that. Williams’ fusion-fueled original is from his
1972 release, The Old Bum’s Rush, and is not often encountered by
Williams’ aficionados. Eunson flies high on his searing and soaring solo,
and Walden establishes a comparable turn for his intense sax improvisation.
There is a palpable synthesis which suffuses throughout Wake Up Call, as if all
these disparate compositions were always meant to be together, forming a
compressive collection. Weiss’ brilliance is how he reveals how elements
from different sources can have connections which are not apparent but make
complete sense.

01. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Sanctuary (9:27)
02. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Two Faced (12:22)
03. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Multidirection (8:47)
04. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Noh World (5:24)
05. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Gazelle (8:08)
06. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Sojourn (9:38)
07. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Pee Wee (7:34)
08. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Sonhos Esquecidos (8:23)
09. David Weiss & Point Of Departure - The Mystic Knights of the Sea (6:27)

David Weiss & Point Of Departure


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