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Brian Blade Fellowship
Seasons of Change
Verve
Release date: April 1, 2008

Blade's ensemble seems heavily influenced by his membership in Wayne Shorter's magnificent but overtly cerebral quartet, which isn't always a good thing. The frequently lethargic pace and finely crafted harmonic and melodic nuances occasionally feel like music that must be listened to for your own good, like a meal fortified with fiber but not very tasty. Praise be, then, to bust-outs like Melvin Butler's gnarly tenor saxophone solo on "Return of the Prodigal Son," which also benefits from guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, whose tone and groove are reminiscent of Skunk Baxter on "Reeling In The Years." Like the rest of the disc, the title track is a hit-and-miss magnum opus, which does take advantage of Blade's masterful ability to turn the temperature up and down as a timekeeper. There are some things here I'll want to revisit: Myron Walden's bass clarinet on "Rubylou's Lullaby;" the way "Most Precious One (Prodigy)" apes The Bad Plus, of all people; the found-beauty of "Improvisation," with its pump organ undertow; and the slow build and crescendo of the closer, "Omni." But there's not enough sugar or caffeine to make it addictive in the slightest.

** 1/2 (Two and a half out of five stars)