Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Christian Scott - trumpet
Mathew Stevens - guitar
Milton Fletcher Jr. - Piano
Kristohper Keith Funn - Bass
Jamire Williams - Drums

1. K.K.P.D.
2. The Eraser
3. After All
4. Isadora
5. Angola L.A. and the 13th Ammendment
6. Last Broken Heart
7. Jenacide
8. American't
9. An Unending Repentance
10. The Roe Effect


Yesterday You Said Tomorrow is the first time I have heard the young trumpet player Christian Scott. Listening to the album and reading the liner notes, you can tell Scott's influences of old school jazz dominates this album. He got Rudy Van Gelder to produce his album! Van Gelder is legendary for the Blue Note albums he engineered in the 1960's (I believe he was the engineer on Dolphy's Out to Lunch as well as MJQ's Django, which I have reviewed on this blog). Scott (27 years young) feels a need to incorporate politics into his music, which I feel falls flat. Scott, influenced by Bob Dylan amongst others, thinks that musicians who successfully incorporate these political issues into their music stand the test of time well. While I do not disagree, I do find it difficult to state that a collection of instrumentals are political. I guess in a way, that makes this album like program music -- tone poems, if you will. Most of the songs are partially explained in their titles, and Christian Scott elaborates on the meanings of the songs on his web site (www.christianscott.net).

One of the many highlights of this album is American't. I am really drawn to this piece, as it contains a unique time signature of 11/8 (I believe). The time signature with the jangly guitar playing from Mathew Stevens and the ballsy drumming from Jamire Williams evoke images of soft-core Mahavishnu Orchestra to this listener. Another song I admire is Isadora. This an example of Scott imitating his influences; by using a harmon mute without a stem, his tone sounds very much like Miles Davis. The piano similarly is reminiscent of something Bill Evans, or even Herbie Hancock may have played. I don't really care for Scott's super breathy tone, though, which is prominent on this track as well as others (he draws out long tones until all you hear is warm air blowing through the horn).

When I first heard this album, I was listening with very narcissistic ears. I was trying to find flaws in the music. The main thing I was hearing and disliking was that it seemed so much that the group was trying so hard at times to be like their musical idols. Wynton Marsalis is also known for emulating the older players quite well, so I don't know if Christian is trying to do this too. However, Scott and Mathew Stevens (who separately wrote most of the albums compositions) do, at times, find a unique niche style. The electric guitar adds an element that makes it close to fusion, but it doesn't seem to get as heavy as so much fusion does. What I'm referring to can be heard on the opening chords to "Angola...", "Jenacide", and "The Eraser."

The latter of the three seems to incorporate prepared piano. While I am usually a fan of prepared piano, the sibilance that the effect provides becomes rather distracting. It sounds like one is listening to the track with blown out speakers.

I think my review can be paradoxically summed up by saying Scott's album is cliche, yet unique. I seem to like it the more I listen to it. I would recommend this album to anyone who is disenchanted with the contemporary jazz scene. I myself do not own a lot of contemporary jazz albums, but maybe this c.d. will be a gateway for me.

p.s. I bought the c.d. at Borders. It included a 5 track e.p. of Freddie Hubbard covers including Red Clay. I was expecting to like Red Clay, but I found some of the other pieces more enthralling.