from Jazz Times article “Tarbaby: Back to Basics”
Bassist Eric Revis elaborates: “In the story, the tar baby is something you don’t want to attach yourself to. And it seems to me there are elements of jazz that a lot of people don’t want to attach themselves to: the idea of swinging, playing with conviction, with reckless abandon. Everything now tends to be very pensive and ‘interesting.’ An exercise in the math of music. None of us are about that.”
For drummer Nasheet Waits, Tar Baby speaks to the need for musicians to engage the full sweep of jazz tradition, not focus narrowly on what’s current. “The best players have a firm sense of history,” he says. “That’s why they’re able to walk their own path. There’s a cultural message that I think is being lost today, with the younger generation not referencing certain elements that are key to making jazz strong, making it what it is.”
Title Bout (Final Round)
From The ballad of Sam Langford
Orrin Evans-piano, Eric Revis-bass, Nasheet Waits-drums, with guests Oliver Lake-alto saxophone and Ambrose Akinmusire-trumpet.