Darrell Grant: The New Black: Darrell Grant Live at Birdland
Lair Hill Records

Twenty-five years after the release of his 1994 debut album Black Art, Portland-based pianist Darrell Grant revisited its material during live sets recorded at NYC's Birdland on January 16th and 17th, 2019. The New Black almost didn't happen, however, as no formal arrangements to record the performances for official release were in place on those nights; it's only because bassist Clark Sommers recorded the sets using a digital recorder for his own personal reference that the document exists. Upon hearing the files thereafter, Grant recognized the vitality of the performances and how perfectly they captured the spirit of the music, the vibe in the room, and the combustible energy of the players. Predictably, the sound quality isn't great, but the incendiary performances by Grant, Sommers, trumpeter Marquis Hill, and drummer Kendrick Scott make up for it. In the pianist's words, “I felt that the importance of that moment at Birdland overshadowed whatever the sonic challenges might be, and that it deserved to be heard.”

A fascinating comparison study could be made between the original release featuring Grant, Wallace Roney, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade and the new one, especially when both releases explore similar material, but The New Black holds up perfectly well on its own terms. Any recording featuring Hill, one of today's most exciting players, warrants attention, and his playing in this context is as fiery as that presented on his own recent New Gospel Revisited. Scott, whose dynamic drumming animates the music terrifically on Hill's release, does the same on Grant's by pushing the leader and trumpeter to ever-ascending heights. Such free-flight needs an anchor, and Sommers fits the bill, though he's in no way a too-grounded presence. All four have worked together in various combinations outside the quartet, such connections acting as a strong lubricant for their Birdland interactions.

Consistent with the album title, The New Black updates Black Art with new arrangements plus extra material, too. The title track's a new Grant composition, for example, and “The New Bop” also appears, it having appeared before as the title track on Grant's 1997 follow-up to Black Art. Even had the set-list been the same, differences naturally would have emerged given the changes in the players that have accrued over a quarter-century. Grant's a more mature player today than he was then, obviously, but his playing's no less inspired on the 2019 set.

Powered by a spiraling theme, “The New Black” achieves lift-off a minute into the performance, with Scott stoking volcanic thrust, Hill blazing outrageously, and the others with them every step of the way. Grant delivers a freewheeling solo next, and though he's not as up front in the mix as one would like, the power of his statement comes through regardless. After that breathtaking firestorm comes “Tilmon Tones,” which, in alluding to Tony Williams, both references Grant's time with the drummer's quintet and replicates the invigorated take on acoustic jazz that was his focus during his later years—“Tilmon Tones” swings hard, in other words. Don't be surprised either if the performance revives memories of Roney, Mulgrew Miller, Ira Coleman, and Williams himself as Grant's unit roars. Midway through the set, “The New Bop” reinstates that hard bop attack with a rousing bit of funk worked in for good measure.

An elegant solo piano episode by Grant sets the balladic scene for “Foresight” before the others enter, with Hill showing he's as impressive when playing gently. A sensitive quartet reading of the standard “For Heaven's Sake” follows to extend the intimate moment beyond a single tune and grant the leader a flattering spotlight for his own lyrical side. Continuing the covers theme, “Blue In Green” sees Hill on mute and the others waxing nostalgically, and in an inspired move, the quartet tackles Ron Carter's “Einbahnstrasse” and gives it a frothy uptempo reading. Of the 2019 performances, Grant writes, “The energy in the room was palpable—the music exploded off the bandstand.” However much that sounds hyperbolic, the evidence bears it out, middling sound quality and all.

July 2022