Saxophonist/composer Dave Mullen is known for his collaborations with some of the music’s leading names across several genres. He has worked with Roy Ayers, Vic Juris, Mark Egan, Marc Ribot, John Medeski, Claudio Roditi, Cecil Bridgewater, John Hicks, Delfeayo Marsalis, Robin Eubanks, Nile Rodgers, and Gil Scott Heron to name a few.
His latest project, due out July 16, 2021, offers a welcome dose of Solace to a world sorely in need of it. The album, mixed by the Grammy-winning producer-engineer Jeff Jones, a regular collaborator with Jazz at Lincoln Center, finds the multi-faceted saxman deviating from the eclecticism of his previous release, Mahoney’s Way. Featuring his band Butta, that album showcased the wide range of Mullen’s influences, from contemporary jazz to funk to R&B to gospel. His follow-up narrows the focus to a buoyant straight-ahead sound, absorbing that wealth of influences into the album’s vibrant sound rather than shifting from one style to the next.
“My last album was designed to encompass everything I do on a regular basis,” Mullen explains, “from jazz to rock to funk to gospel and everything in between. Music is music to me. But this time I wanted to do a more focused project. I guess it’s somewhat of a departure being strictly straight ahead, but it’s not a departure considering the artists I’ve been working with for the past 20 years.”
That tireless career journey was captured by the album’s intended title, The Grind, which it was to share with its McCoy Tyner-inspired opening track. A few events in the aftermath of the recording date changed the tone of the session in Mullen’s mind, however. The first, everyone reading this is intimately familiar with: a global pandemic struck, reminding suddenly deprived listeners worldwide of the importance of music to their lives.
The second was far more personal. Even as the recording was underway, despite the obviously breathtaking results of bringing this band together, something was making Mullen uneasy. “I’m a very spiritual cat – not religious, but spiritual,” the saxophonist explains. “Everything was going down great, but there was just a little something in the back of my mind; an intangible. To make a long story short, the very next day my brother went into a coma and never came out of it.”
This staggering loss forced Mullen to step away from the album for a time. But when he was able to listen to the music again, he found the solace – and thus the title – he was looking for. And with the music world devastated by the virus both physically and economically, he realized that these bracing sounds could provide the same service for countless others.
To create that supportive mood, it helped to have such brilliant musicians in the band. The core quartet was specially convened for this date, though Mullen and Cowherd (Brian Blade, Cassandra Wilson) share a friendship dating back nearly 30 years. Another long-standing friendship with Glawischnig (Chick Corea, Ray Barretto) made him an obvious choice to hold down the bass chair. At the recommendation of Cowherd, Mullen then reached out to Strickland (Ravi Coltrane, Russell Malone), and the combination clicked. “When we came together and played, it just felt like magic,” Mullen recalls.
Seeley (Chico and Arturo O’Farrill), another old friend, was an integral addition to the album’s opening pair of tracks. The once title tune, “The Grind,” is an homage to McCoy Tyner, with an aptly forceful piano riff and an overall feel that evokes the classic Coltrane quartet. It’s followed by the funky “Shanna Shuffle,” which has a distinct Eddie Harris feel but is in fact dedicated to Mullen’s mother. At 82, she maintains active in competitive dancing and has even performed a routine to it (an admittedly slowed down) version of this tune.
The lyrical “For Michael” pays tribute to Michael Brecker, one of Mullen’s primary influences, with a transportive melody essayed by tenor and bass in tandem. An up-tempo reimagining of “Satin Doll,” the album’s sole cover, views the immortal Duke Ellington classic through a post-bop lens, while “Kinda Green” takes a Coltrane-esque spin through a traditional Irish reel to give a tip o’ the hat to both the iconic saxophonist and Mullen’s Irish heritage.
John Coltrane also provides some of the inspiration for the angular “Mane Tronk,” in combination with his onetime boss, Thelonious Monk, whose eccentric approach to melody is a clear touchstone for the piece. The breezily grooving “Like Rahsaan” ends with a nod to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, whose influence pervades Mullen’s playing in several ways: most directly, the saxophone neck that Mullen plays once belonged to the late sax titan. Kirk’s penchant for playing multiple saxophones is also a key part of Mullen’s arsenal; on “Like Rahsaan” as well as “Satin Doll,” Mullen essays the melodies on tenor and soprano at once.
“We’ve all lived through a lot of loss,” Mullen concludes. “With Solace, I tried to offer something that enlightens, elevates, and touches the soul.”
For further information on Dave Mullen, please visit www.davemullen.com
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