Seven originals by Stephens, seven ambiguous titles, seven compelling tracks that deny definition ...
Whether on alto or tenor Stephens is very much his own man. No licks 'borrowed' from Bird or Trane. No contrafacts courtesy of Cole Porter, nothing that isn't his own.
The sound is full and as modern as tomorrow. It's without distortion, it's the sound of the saxophone in the present day. He catches the mood, the moment in time that belongs to him alone although, in fairness, it's a bubble containing four musicians joined at the hip, and I use the word intentionally. These days 'hip' has probably been replaced by some newer expression - if it has then it's that new expression as well.
Throughout Hutchinson's driving drums are ever-present: sometimes the enforcer, sometimes the pacifier but always in the right place at the right time. Parks, long established as both a soloist and an accompanist, fills both roles to the manor born. Likewise Street, he's on the money, right there in the pocket, providing the harmonic foundation holding it all together.
I don't know if the budget was tight but Altura only plays on one track. His solo is an absolute delight, I'd like to have heard more.
The album title Hopium is a combination of two words - hope and opium. Personally, I'd have thought optimism would have been a more appropriate word but, then again, I never got around to kickin' old Buddha's gong!
Check Hopium out. Available from Feb. 7. Lance
Drive North to Find the Oranges Out West; Jump Start; Trust; Hopium; Occasionally Cynical; Hard-boiled Wonderland; As Truth Rises Above Power
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