Chris West Featured in Nashville Scene

Chris West’s new CD, Surprise Trilogy 2, reviewed by Jack Silverman for Nashville Scene, July 2011.

Read the original article HERE.

One of the more compelling story lines in the excellent HBO series Treme follows Delmond Lambreaux, a jazz trumpeter raised in New Orleans and living in New York City. Delmond’s cerebral hard-bop style seems to turn its back on the more visceral jazz tradition of his hometown, but he eventually becomes disillusioned with modern jazz’s insular world. One day, while visiting his father in the Big Easy, he watches some Mardi Gras Indians perform “Shallow Water, Oh Mama” while the jazz classic “Killer Joe” plays on a nearby boombox. As Delmond takes in the odd synergism of the unintentional mash-up, he has an epiphany, and embarks on a new project, fusing modern jazz with the slinky, visceral Mardi Gras music of his youth.

Though born and raised in Nashville, saxophonist Chris West might have had a similar revelation at some point. Listening to his new album, Surprise Trilogy 2 (the second installment of a three-part series), you get the impression he’s come to the same conclusion: Screw the jazz police. This shit’s supposed to be fun, not a museum piece. If you keep your eye on the idiom’s populist roots, embrace the forefathers’ trailblazing spirit — and most importantly, ignore any arbitrary boundaries imposed by purists — the results can be exhilarating.

Nowhere is West’s free-spirited attitude more evident than on the opening and closing tracks, “Surprise 2″ and “Surprise 3,” which are radically different versions of the same song. “Surprise 2″ features members of Half Brass — a Nashville group in the spirit of second-line torchbearers like Dirty Dozen and Rebirth — and would sound right at home in a Mardi Gras parade. (West is a member of Half Brass, in addition to being an in-demand sideman who’s worked with everyone from Brenda Lee and Deana Carter to Mike Farris and The Dynamites.)

Meanwhile, “Surprise 3″ employs a completely different backing band, and has more in common with avant-jazz pranksters Sex Mob than with a French Quarter throwdown. Essentially a deconstruction of the former track, it includes some terrific interplay between West and saxophonist Jeff Coffin (a mentor to West over the years), weaving back and forth between harmony and cacophony while exploiting the, er, hell out of the devil’s interval.

Varied approaches aside, though, both tracks have the same unabashed, life-affirming energy that is at the heart of jazz’s New Orleans roots. And that’s not to mention the other two versions of “Surprise” from the first album in the trilogy. In fact, of the 18 tracks on the first two discs, four of them are variations of the same song. And there are guaranteed to be more “Surprises” on ST3. It’s an engaging conceit, kind of like the big reprise at the end of a Broadway musical, and it gives the project some thematic continuity, in addition to providing some of the most explosive moments.

That’s not to dismiss the songs that aren’t titled “Surprise,” nor is it to suggest that this is an exclusively New Orleans affair. Far from it. The second track, “Maybe,” feels like a contemporary spin on Impressions-era Coltrane, and the three songs that follow — “New Insight,” “Pawn Shop Junkie” and “Perception of Perfection” — are complex and cerebral enough to pass muster with the most uptight jazz purists. (And that’s not a dis — “Pawn Shop Junkie,” with its obtuse, Monk-ish melody, is one of the strongest cuts.)

Other standouts include the Latin-tinged “Time’s Up” as well as “Rude Awakening,” an all-sax workout with West playing every instrument: Imagine the World Saxophone Quartet performing All Things Considered segue music. (Also not a dis — who doesn’t love those segues?)

This may all sound like a stylistic mishmosh, but it works, partly because West has honed his compositional skills, but more so because he’s grown into his voice, a sound that’s identifiable whether he’s blowing over hard-bop changes or putting the hot sauce on some greasy musical gumbo. With his Trilogy series, West is establishing himself as one of the area’s top jazz artists, on par with heavyweights such as Coffin, Don Aliquo and Rod McGaha. And like post-epiphany Delmond Lambreaux, he’s not going to be boxed in.

- Jack Silverman

Chris West Blog – About Surprise Trilogy 2

I am very excited and proud to announce the up coming CD release of The Surprise Trilogy Disc 2 this Thursday, July 28, 2011 at The Basement in Nashville, TN. There is a $10 cover, which includes a copy of the CD at the door.

I will be performing all of the songs from the disc, which are all original, many of which have not been played out before. The night will feature many special guests such as Jeff Coffin, Rod McGaha, and Halfbrass. I also have a saxophone quartet lined up to play a particular song that is on the CD.

The Surprise Trilogy is a project that I have been working on since mid 2008. The initial idea was a more organic, straight ahead follow-up album to my funky/acid jazz first release, Jazzmanic. As I was slowly recording the songs for consideration (recording 2-3 songs at a time, once a month), I realized I had written a lot of songs over the years, and wanted to record them all, if for nothing else, to archive. Eventually, I decided to record and release them all as The Surprise Trilogy.

Surprise is a song that I wrote several years ago and have performed it in many different ensembles, and as a result, it has been played in many different ways. So I put a different version of Surprise as the first and last track of each disc (hence the name) to tie the albums together.

The album will be available in both CD and digital download formats here on my website after the release party date.

I am very excited to share with you the next part of this large project that I have been working very hard on for a long time. Please come out and celebrate with me.

- Chris

Chris West Calendar Updated Jul 26, 2011

The following new dates have been added to the Chris West Calendar.

For additional dates and details, visit the Chris West Calendar section.

You can also subscribe to Chris’ e-mail Newsletter to be notified of his latest news, events, and website updates.

Date	Event	Details
Monday Aug 08, 2011 and Tuesday Aug 09, 2011	Opening for Maceo Parker performing w/ The Dynamites France
Saturday Aug 13, 2011	Tomato Fest performing with Halfbrass East Nashville, TN	9AM
Thursday Aug 18, 2011	The Family Wash Chris West Nashville, TN	9PM
Saturday Aug 27, 2011	12th & Porter Chris West’s JunkYard Horns opening for Deep Fried 5 Nashville, TN	9PM
Monday Sep 12, 2011	Douglas Corner Chris West’s JunkYard Horns and Halfbrass Nashville, TN	9PM

Chris West Releases Surprise Trilogy 2

Chris West is releasing Surprise Trilogy 2. This is the second album of three in the Surprise Trilogy series.

Notable guests on Surprise Trilogy 2 include trumpeter Rod McGaha and saxophonist Jeff Coffin. One song of special note is Chris’ saxophone quartet, Rude Awakening (track 8), which will be performed at the upcoming release party.

Surprise Trilogy 2 will officially be released at an upcoming CD release party scheduled for Thursday, July 28, 2011 at The Basement. There is a $10 cover charge which gets you in the door and a free CD copy of Surprise Trilogy 2. More details are available on Chris’ Calendar HERE.

The album will also be available for purchase in CD and Digital Download formats through Chris’ store HERE after the CD release party date.

Chris West Calendar Updated Jul 13, 2011

The following new dates have been added to the Chris West Calendar.

For additional dates and details, visit the Chris West Calendar section.

You can also subscribe to Chris’ e-mail Newsletter to be notified of his latest news, events, and website updates.

Date	Event	Details
Wednesday Jul 13, 2011	The Family Wash Halfbrass Nashville, TN	9PM
Friday Jul 15, 2011	3rd & Lindsley Road to HeadJamz Battle of the Bands Chris West Nashville, TN	7PM
Monday Jul 18, 2011	Exit Inn Bump City (Tower of Power Tribute band) Nashville, TN	8PM
Thursday Aug 25, 2011	The Family Wash Chris West Nashville, TN	9PM