Big band album melds classic jazz and modern hip-hop

The true crux of the masterful Like a Tree It Grows by Igmar Thomas‘ Revive Big Band occurs about halfway through in three ways:

1. Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band take on the jazz standard “Thelonious”, which Thelonious Monk was thoughtful enough to name after himself in a respectful and innovative way. The famous two-note opening melody is punched out with grit and finesse, shifting between sections without a drop of sweat showing. Nicholas Payton, one of the most respected trumpeters in the industry, comes in with a wild solo that enters like a trombone and keeps modulating upward before reaching glorious and intricate high notes. The band return to end things up, and you’d think it’s done, right?

2. Uh, no. Thomas and the band then take on “Thelonius”, a track off Common‘s Like Water for Chocolate album. This song, dreamed up by the late great J Dilla, had nothing to do with the Monk tune in its original configuration. (The name came from Dilla’s rhyme hook: “It’s the Thelonious / Super microphonist.”) However, Thomas finds a way to integrate that two-note theme into the J Dilla/Common track, melding together two songs that only shared a (slightly differently spelled) title. To take things to the next level, Talib Kweli comes in to drop a casually incisive verse rhyming “patience”, “amazin’”, “hatin’”, and “Nicholas Payton”—layers upon layers upon layers, y’all.

3. The trifecta is completed with a tiny but powerful cap track called “Lonius”, wherein Thomas lets the Revive Big Band show off their true might. It sounds a bit like an HBCU marching band and a little like the end of a symphony. It makes you nod your head and break your neck. It’s done in less than a minute.

Like a Tree It Grows doesn’t peak there; we’re talking about the Alps here. Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band have worked with everyone from Patti LaBelle and Terence Blanchard to LL Cool J and Ms. Lauryn Hill, so they know how to do it all. The record bounces back and forth between traditional big band stuff, hip-hop-infused tunes, and some music that really defies description.

Early on, Thomas brings in crooner Bilal to reprise his heartbroken ballad “Levels”, which has become a neo-soul standard since its first appearance on 2010’s Airtight’s Revenge. Here, Thomas takes a floaty Robert Glasper-like approach, covering everything with aural gauze; it even sounds like Bilal is singing through an old-fashioned Rudy Vallee megaphone. But as the song builds, the instrumentation builds into intricate swing sections – with occasional electric guitar punch-ins – and the gauze starts to drop. By the time Bilal gets to the emotional sweet spot of “You won’t find me / Playing this song for nothing,” the band are in full sympathetic vibration. We all emerge at the other end, tested and tried, and have learned something important.

At times, it seems like Igmar Thomas is giving himself difficult challenges just to see how far he can go with them. Start with a funky brass band piece that also incorporates serpentine sections that show off just how badass your band are. Okay, he can do that; he’ll call it “R&P”. Do a peppy version of Wayne Shorter‘s leisurely “Speak No Evil”? Sure, got it on lock, with a triumphant sax solo by Myron Walden. How about a new tune incorporating rap and two killer jazz solos with a chorus hook borrowed from Al B. Sure? Oh, and give it the best song title of the year? Sure, here’s “To Kinda Lounge Around”.

Perhaps the biggest challenge here comes at the end. Thomas invited legendary acid-jazz organist Dr. Lonnie Smith into the studio along with harmonica specialist Grégoire Maret and modern keyboard whiz Cory Henry for a spectacular New Orleans-flavored jam session called “Play It Back”. Here, Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band can provide the tasteful setting for these three jewels, sitting back tastefully while letting their guests shine. This is discipline; this is skill, and judging from the occasional words of surprise and support from the background, this is community.

I’m not sure everything works perfectly here. Bringing in Jean Baylor to sing her song “Infant Eyes” is a bit too fussy, losing the simplicity and candor of the original version done by the Baylor Project. “Words I Manifest” is fine, ultimately, but the opening interpolation of “Nights in Tunisia” tends to overwhelm Raydar Ellis’s technically on-point but understated rap.

But these slight misfires are overwhelmed by Like a Tree It Grows‘ exciting textures and rock-solid grooves. Here’s hoping that Igmar Thomas and his spectacular band step up the recording schedule and really stretch things out moving forward. All the pieces are in place.