Calling Antonin [CD]

Tenor saxophonist-composer James Brandon Lewis returns with his 3rd scintillating Red Lily offering, following on the impeccable Jesup Wagon (2021) and For Mahalia, With Love (2023). Fresh off his Tenor Saxophonist of the Year win in Downbeat Critics Poll, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship for Music Composition, and delivering a triumphant week at the vaunted Village Vanguard with his Quartet, James Brandon Lewis is releasing Calling Antonín, each Red Lily project being an homage to & celebration of historical figures who have been major inspirations in JBL's life. The new entry may come as a surprise, as the subject is Antonín Dvorák - the revered Czech composer (1841-1904) who drew inspiration from the folk songs of his own country, and then from the United States where he lived and worked for three years starting in 1892. The music Dvorák created in this critical period is the focus of Calling Antonín, a stunning and seamless application of James Brandon Lewis and the Red Lily band's creative genius to an artist whose imagination similarly knew few boundaries. The album consists of original JBL songs that are either variations of Dvorák pieces, are inspired by them, or have other personal significance. All are rich with stirring, indelible melodies, galvanic rhythms and a celestial feel, with improvisations and ensemble playing that reach for the heavens. Red Lily currently consists of Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Melanie Dyer on violin, Tomeka Reid on cello, Joshua Abrams on bass and Chad Taylor on drums - each a leading light on the American jazz scene. As Michael Beckerman, Dvorák scholar and dean of the UCLA School of Music, writes in the detailed liner notes for Calling Antonín, ""the group blends chamber-like textures with the expressive fire of contemporary jazz, forging a language that is both deeply rooted and boldly forward-looking."" Red Lily is the unit which JBL calls ""regal, majestic and what brilliance would sound like if it was a sound."" Jesup Wagon won Album of the Year in the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll, and For Mahalia, With Love won Album of the Year in the 2023 Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. And now Calling Antonín. It's the sound of brilliance, a chef's kiss from James Brandon Lewis to Antonín Dvorák.