Javon Jackson - Expression (2014)

SOULFUL TENOR SAXOPHONE great Javon Jackson makes a crowd-pleasing statement with his new, Expression, featuring the Javon Jackson Band with Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt, and McClenty Hunter. Expression is serious jazz music at its accessible best. Javon and company rework Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing,” Donnie Hathaway and Roberta Flack’s “Where is the Love,” and Nat Cole’s “When I Fall in Love.” Track after track, this set delivers with songs like George Cable’s ’70s classic “Think on Me,” Wayne Shorter’s “One by One,” as well as several memorable Jackson originals. It’s a record you’ll return to again and again.

Reviewed in the New York City Jazz Record (February 2014):
At the close of this live set from New York’s Smoke jazz club, tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson announces that this is his first live album as a leader. Hard to believe he’s made it through a 25+ year career without doing one but all that practice has helped to make him a charming frontman. Throughout the set he runs a streak of intricate lines and swinging turns-of-phrase, no doubt inspired by his audience and driven by a solid band.
His quartet opens with one of the great tunes from the book of his former employer Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter’s “One by One”. That tune made its premiere 50 years earlier on Blakey’s live album Ugetsu, recorded at Birdland. Drummer McClenty Hunter is initially a little modest wielding a Blakey-esque wrecking ball but his driving swing gradually builds to a muscular pace as Jackson soars ahead. The stomping enthusiasm happily peaks with Orrin Evans’ pounding piano solo.
Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry About A Thing” carries the momentum further. The tune has been a modern standard in Jackson’s repertoire at least since he recorded it for his 1999 Blue Note release Pleasant Valley and he is faithful in his reading of the melody. A forceful intensity is heaped on top of the arrangement. Hunter wallops the tune until he’s granted some space to solo over Jackson and Evans’ repeated closing riff to great effect.
The band addresses two amorous pleas with “Where is the Love?” and “When I Fall In Love”, Evans delivering a bluesy stab on the former while offering a more contemplative stroll through the latter. Jackson follows with a gentle melodic solo that moves with the expected confidence of a veteran.
The Smoke Sessions label aims to roll out these dynamic live sets by road-tested veterans steadily. It’s an ambitious trend for business owners who don’t think the stress of running a jazz club is enough. So far, so good. – Sean O’Connell

Tracklist:

01. One by One (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
02. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
03. T.J. (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
04. When I Fall in Love (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
05. Think on Me (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
06. Mr. Taylor (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
07. Where Is the Love (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
08. Lelia (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
09. Richard's R.A.P. (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)
10. 88 Strong (feat. Orrin Evans, Corcoran Holt & McClenty Hunter)