Avery Sharpe's 400

Avery Sharpe's 400: An African-American Musical Project is one of those sprawling and ambitious projects that fixes upon several points in history and brings them together, presenting a new perspective from a thoroughly artistic standpoint. Sharpe is a supremely talented bassist from Georgia, and he was inspired by Duke Ellington's premiere of Black, Brown and Beige: A Tone Parallel to the History of the American Negro, which occurred at Carnegie Hall back in 1943. The 400, of course, refers to the number of years that have passed since the forced arrival of the first African slaves to Virginia. Sharpe uses a large and constantly evolving ensemble, complete with choir, to follow the history of slaves in America, century by century.

Avery Sharpe is perhaps best known as the long-time bass player for McCoy Tyner; his sound is the driving force behind this project. He surrounded himself with some truly remarkable talent for 400, most notably Kevin Eubanks on guitar and his brother Duane on trumpet. There's a family structure throughout--the Rivera family, including Sofia, makes up half of the Extended Family Choir, which is led by Kevin Sharpe. That's the important element in 400--this could be an album of anger and resentment and hopelessness, but instead it's about love. Love of family, love of each other, love of ourselves.

This is not a hard pill to swallow. Much of 400 is supremely musical, with beautiful melodies, haunting themes and fascinating ideas. It moves chronologically and always reflects the times--"Colonial Life," "Antebellum," and "Harlem and the War to End All Wars." The final song is titled "500," which is an obvious reference to the future and where we'll be 100 years from now. There are constant cues from history to guide us along, gospel and spirituals of course, the waltzes of the slave owners, American folk music and ultimately jazz.

It's an understatement to say that anything in 400 is half-hearted. There is a purity in the message, a reinforcement of hope, that makes this project seem far more optimistic than it should be. The idea behind gospel music and spirituals was always the need to be uplifted, just as the message of jazz is to think and to put one and one together to make two. 400 reveals a thrilling level of kindness and unity and focus, and it's one of the most compelling contemporary jazz releases all year.

The Eric Byrd Trio's Saints Are Still Marching

The full title of this release is The Eric Byrd Trio Featuring Terell Stafford and Tim Warfield--Sacred Music Vol. 1: Saints Are Still Marching. I'm mentioning this once because it's clear there's a lot of talent contributing to this release, and everyone deserves credit. Still, the truncated version of the title is easier to remember, and yes, you will want to remember this album.

I didn't think it was going to be my thing at first--spirituals, hymns and gospels played by a straightforward jazz trio augmented by a trumpet player (Stafford) and a sax player (Warfield). It does sound like a good idea on paper, especially if you can maintain a pared-down approach to the music side of it so each track isn't overtly inspirational. The idea should involve culling the beautiful harmonies of standards such as "There's Just Something About That Name (Jesus)," "I Want Jesus to Walk With Me" and "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," and giving it The Jazz Treatment. You know, exploring the themes and allowing each performer to improvise those themes.

Pianist Byrd and the rest of his trio--bassist Bahgwan Khalsa and drummer Alphonso Young Jr.--accomplish this as expected. They're a great, vibrant trio and they've played with many greats such as Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Byrd, Bob Berg and many more. These three gentleman are also known for teaming up with the Brother Ray Band for an 8-piece Ray Charles tribute. The liner notes refer to the trio as having a "rigorous, modern approach to standards," and I agree completely.

Unless you've spent a good chunk of your life singing with the congregation on Sunday morning, you might not recognize many of these songs as spirituals or hymns. That is, you might not know until Eric Byrd starts singing--he doesn't start doing that until the second half of the album. You know what? I don't mind at all. Byrd's voice is so warm and likeable and perfect for singing gospel. He takes a rich, emotional approach to the lyrics without sounding mawkish or overly penitent. It's a voice of pure celebration and love--at times he will remind you of Stevie Wonder.

Byrd even has a sense of humor about it all. In "I Want Jesus to Walk With Me," he adds a piano riff that sounds a lot like "Freddie's Dead." There's probably no specific need to tie these two songs together other than the pure fun of it. That's what makes Saints Are Still Marching so enjoyable, even if you aren't into this type of music--it overflows with love, respect and talent.