Best of 2017 #37: Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band – “Body & Shadow” (Blue Note Records)

There’s really no risk of assigning too great of value or esteeming too highly the music of Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band.  Their singular form of expression incorporating cinematic imagery, moody contemplation and dramatic surges is such a specific sound and so innate to their collaboration that it’s almost impossible not to recognize their music if blindfolded.  But more than that, their particular sound is one that has been adopted by a number of other musicians… to the point where the sphere of influence could be regarded as a school of modern jazz.  It’s that way with other seminal artists from recent times… Bill Frisell, Esbjorn Svensson, Brad Mehldau… that the gravitational pull of their specific sound can alter the course of any musicians who that music speaks to.  Blade’s 2017 release Body and Shadow captures all the magic of past releases, while conjuring up something new.  This is captivating music created by musicians who have made a career of it.

Music from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Read more at Bird is the Worm.