Brian Blade - Lifecycles Volumes I & II: Now! and Forevermore honoring Bobby Hutcherson / 2CD set

The unwieldy title of Brian Blade's Lifecycles, Vols. 1-2: Now! and Forever More Honoring Bobby Hutcherson requires some unpacking. Lifecycles is a side project formed in 2001 by members of Blade's the Fellowship Band (pianist Jon Cowherd and saxophonist/flutist Myron Walden are the others) along with vibraphonist/vocalist Monte Croft, guitarist John Hart, and bassist Doug Weiss. Originally called Subterranean Sextet, they played clubs and occasional festivals, and percussionist Rogerio Boccato joined in 2018. This debut recording offers a complete re-creation of vibraphone poet Bobby Hutcherson's Now! from 1970, two tunes associated with him in Grachan Moncur III's "Love and Hate" from Jackie McLean's Destination Out! in 1964 and "My Joy" from the vibraphonist's Oblique, recorded in 1967 but unissued until 1979. Lastly, there are four originals composed by Lifecycles' members.

Now! was recorded in 1969 with producer Duke Pearson. Its music was inspired by the civil rights and Black self-determination movements, as well as new sounds in jazz, soul, and funk. Hutcherson's quintet -- saxophonist Harold Land, drummer Joe Chambers, bassist Herbie Lewis, and either Kenny Barron or Stanley Cowell on piano -- added conguero Candido, vocal soloists Gene McDaniels and mezzo soprano Hilda Harris, and a small female chorus for the sessions. Initially misunderstood, Now! is widely considered an iconic fusion of jazz with spiritual soul.

In addition to his talent as a drummer, Blade is a fine composer, arranger, and bandleader. His take on Now! subtly uncovers hidden rhythmic, harmonic, and textural details in the originals. Commencing with the title cut -- a tender, lilting balladic dialogue between vibes, piano, and flute -- Blade's chart abandons the choir vocals and uses melody to highlight spaces between and around the band's interaction. Weiss' short, lyric bass solo is especially satisfying. "Slow Change," sung by Croft flanked by a male backing chorus (Blade and Cowherd), finds the band flirting with gospel as they create elasticity in tempo, tonality, and sonority. Walden's resonant saxophone solo dovetails into Hart's spiky guitar break as the rhythm section adds indelible swing. Harold Land's "Black Heroes" is a seamless hard bop gem that was wrongly considered an outlier originally but is, in actuality, a brilliant summation of the album's musical evolution. The gloriously knotty head delivered by Croft and Walden is framed in killer breaks and fills from Blade, who in turn sets up Cowherd's labyrinthine, hard-driving solo. "My Joy" commences as a lullaby waltz via flute and guitar. The vibes solo gradually alters the architecture as time signatures morph into more aggressive tempos, becoming a fleet, graceful, modal hard bop steamer. Of the band's originals, the sophisticated modern jazz groover "Future" and Walden's lyric, suite-like "Forgotten Memories" are clear standouts, rife with timbral and rhythmic invention. If all Lifecycles accomplished was to cover Hutcherson's Now!, the result would have been remarkable; these interpretations add depth and dimension and an open curiosity. By including catalog selections and their own tunes, they reveal the enormity of Hutcherson's influence.

Thom Jurek ~ AllMusicGuide