Smooth jazz with some rough edges, you can actually sink your teeth into The Spin.
Yellowjackets haven't completely taken pop/jazz out of their diet -- Marc Russo's "Blues for Nikki" and Russell Ferrante's "Whistle While You Walk" will skip a little too lightly for some tastes -- but most of the songs find a satisfying midway point between the sweet and the sour.
"Geraldine," "Dark Horses," and "Storytellers" all have some meat on them, with keyboardist Russell Ferrante leading a musical discussion that steers clear of the banal.
Leaving Russo to carry the melodies, Ferrante is free to pursue a more discursive dialogue (notably on "Enigma"), with punctuation provided by the brisk percussion of William Kennedy (who shines on "Dark Horses").
Jimmy Haslip's bassline gives "The Spin" its shape, but he continues to fade in and out of the mix, and fails to make the most of his one solo.
The compact disc features a great bonus track: a medley of Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" and Bud Powell's "Hallucinations." What their version may lack in soul they make up for in stride.
The Spin has more on its mind than an album like Shades, and Yellowjackets' willingness to create and resolve musical problems will give some listeners pause to think.
At least on this occasion, Yellowjackets show that light jazz doesn't have to be a guilty pleasure.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GeraldineRussell Ferrante | Yellowjackets | Play | 06:44 | 15 MB | 36 MB |
| 2 | The SpinRussell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, William Kennedy, Marc Russo | Yellowjackets | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | StorytellersRussell Ferrante | Yellowjackets | Play | 06:46 | 15 MB | 37 MB |
| 4 | Prayer for El SalvadorRussell Ferrante | Yellowjackets | Play | 06:02 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 5 | Whistle While You WalkRussell Ferrante | Yellowjackets | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | EnigmaRussell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip | Yellowjackets | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Dark HorsesBarry Coates, Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip | Yellowjackets | Play | 05:01 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | Medley. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing, Hallucinations | Yellowjackets | Play | 08:47 | 20 MB | 45 MB |
| 48 mins | 110 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 265 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Coates | Composer |
| 2 | Russell Ferrante | Composer, Guest Artist |
| 3 | Jimmy Haslip | Composer, Guest Artist |
| 4 | William Kennedy | Composer, Guest Artist |
| 5 | Bud Powell | Composer |
| 6 | Marc Russo | Composer, Guest Artist |
| 7 | Billy Strayhorn | Composer |
| 8 | Yellowjackets | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |