December 6, 2024
The history of Blue Note Records — jazz’s preeminent record label, and one of the most storied imprints in all of music — is defined by a seamless blend of tradition and innovation. From the advent of hard bop to the label’s knack for elevating the greatest young talent in jazz, the Blue Note story has unfolded over the past 85 years with equal regard for jazz’s past and its future.
Out Of/Into, the all-star collective that began its life earlier this year as the Blue Note Quintet in celebration of the label’s 85th anniversary, is a profound embodiment of the label’s ethos, presenting state-of-the-art music and musicians while also honoring Blue Note’s impossibly rich legacy. Or as the group’s vibraphonist, Joel Ross, puts it, “The way the collective keeps the Blue Note legacy going is by unapologetically being true to ourselves.”
Even the group’s name speaks to this concept of moving ever forward while remaining reverent of the masters who’ve come before. “‘Out Of/Into’ reflects the evolution of the Blue Note story, and of our sound,” says drummer Kendrick Scott.
In fact, Out Of/Into—which also features pianist and musical director Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, and bassist Matt Brewer—represents the latest evolution of one of Blue Note’s most enduring traditions. Over the years, the label has assembled a series of all-star bands overflowing with game-changing ability, including Out of the Blue, Superblue, New Directions, the Blue Note 7, and the Blue Note All-Stars. The players these groups empowered, some of them at the outset of their historic careers, is nothing short of a who’s who of jazz’s last half-century: Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, Renee Rosnes, Greg Osby, Jason Moran, Ravi Coltrane, Bill Charlap, Robert Glasper, Lionel Loueke, Ambrose Akinmusire, and so many other greats. Somehow, each of these groups encapsulated their specific Blue Note period while also proving that the label’s “golden age” isn’t a single epoch at all. Rather, it’s a continuum of excellence and newness that is forever pushing onward.
Which brings us back to Out Of/Into and their remarkable debut album, Motion I, an inspired set presenting seven original works by the band members that was captured in the midst of the group’s marathon tour of 2024, a momentous celebration of Blue Note’s 85th anniversary. All of these compositions are brilliant vehicles for improvisation that were thoroughly explored and developed during nearly 40 live engagements at some of the nation’s finest concert halls. “With such a long time on the road, it was really nice to reach as far as possible,” says Wilkins.
Adds Clayton, “We pushed one another to reach further and dig deeper night after night. Over the course of two months, the music expanded in all directions. Things grew both tighter and looser.
“So much talent and creativity was on that bandstand,” he continues, with both accuracy and tremendous modesty. Simply put, Out Of/Into comprises five of the most important voices of their generation in jazz — and some of the most integral and exciting figures in Blue Note’s recent memory.
Six-time GRAMMY nominee Clayton has been an essential part of the Blue Note roster for the past four years, releasing two albums as a leader and recording Blue Note projects with Akinmusire, Charles Lloyd, and Bill Frisell. Wilkins, who also plays with Ross in the vibraphonist’s Good Vibes, has released three critically lauded albums on the label. As the New York Times wrote, his “quartet … has become a band that members of the young generation can measure their own ideas up against.”
Ross follows Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, and Stefon Harris as the latest vibraphone titan to do career-making work for the label: He’s recorded four Blue Note LPs as a leader, in addition to collaborating with Meshell Ndegeocello, Joshua Redman, Makaya McCraven, and others on their Blue Note projects. Scott has three outstanding Blue Note albums under his belt, and he’s been a crucial element on Blue Note recordings by Terence Blanchard, Walter Smith III, and the Blue Note All-Stars. Brewer ranks among jazz’s most gifted and affecting bass players, whose collaborators include visionaries like Tyshawn Sorey, Steve Lehman, John Escreet, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
The collective history in Out Of/Into, whether on record, on the bandstand, or through mutual respect shared from afar, is powerful and palpable. “I’ve had a deep musical connection with Joel that we had been building for the past nine years,” Wilkins says, “and we both have grown up listening to Gerald, Matt, and Kendrick in different bands.” This sense of simpatico, especially after so much time together onstage, is readily apparent throughout the new album — especially on tracks like Ross’ “Radical” and Scott’s “Synchrony,” where the entire ensemble levitates, urging the soloists toward breathtaking heights.
The program is consummate post-bop, shot through with elements of the avant-garde — a thrilling combination that often evokes the most arresting Blue Note LPs of the 1960s: think of must-have LPs by Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy, and others. And yet: Scott’s rhythmic thrust, the clarity and precision of the solos … this is music of the moment. Clayton’s “Ofafrii” offers a compelling theme and Ross’ virtuosic solo turns, while the pianist’s “Gabaldon’s Glide” finds its architecture in Wilkins’ soulful tone as he repeats a series of phrases. Clayton’s “Second Day” is gorgeous, slightly mysterious twilit atmosphere; ditto his balladic closer, “Bird’s Luck.”
Brewer’s contribution, “Aspiring to Normalcy,” flows with challenging abstraction, and serves as a reminder of Blue Note’s serious and underrated devotion to jazz’s most adventurous strains. As the bassist explains, anything he writes, whether or not it’s part of an explicit Blue Note tribute, is influenced by the label. As it has for all self-respecting jazz musicians, the sound of Blue Note has simply been in the air throughout his life. “My parents played a lot of Blue Note records at home when I was a kid,” he says, “so I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t hear those albums. That has had a profound impact on the way I hear music now.”
