Ascension - CD

Harriet Tubman s mission is to show how we ve digested the ideas our jazz mentors passed to us and how we applied them using the musical tools of our generation. Melvin Gibbs

There are multiple dimensions to the name of the pioneering band Harriet Tubman. The name certainly is a tribute to the African-American hero and leader, but it also alludes to freedom seeking in music, a paramount goal of the band. The combo of guitarist Brandon Ross, bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer J.T. Lewis leads listeners to planes where music is free of stylistic limitations and designations. Ascension, Harriet Tubman s new recording on Sunnyside Records, introduces an expanded Double Trio that channels the spirit of earlier masters (namely, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane) in reaching new musical heights.

Harriet Tubman has pushed the boundaries of musical expression since 1998. The group s members combine solid performance experience with inventive skills to create a unique sound that blends jazz, rock, funk, soul and blues. Guitarist Brandon Ross has been a leader in advancing guitar vocabulary and has played alongside Henry Threadgill, Cassandra Wilson, Leroy Jenkins, Me Shell Ndegéocello, among others. Melvin Gibbs is regarded as one of the best electric bassists in the world, known for performing with bands such as the (Henry) Rollins Band, Power Tools (with Bill Frisell and Ronald Shannon Jackson) and the Sonny Sharrock Band, along with producing artists such as Arto Lindsay and DJ Logic. Drummer J.T. Lewis is a founding member of the legendary Living Colour jazz/rock band and has performed with several legends like Herbie Hancock, Don Pullen, Sting, Lou Reed and Tina Turner.

Echoing the legendary expanded ensemble work of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane during their creative heights in the 1960s, Harriet Tubman bolstered its aural palette with the addition of three open-minded musicians: trumpeter Ron Miles and turntablists DJ Logic and DJ Singe. The bassist suggested recreating Coleman s remarkable Double Quartet recording Free Jazz (Atlantic, 1960) with Harriet Tubman and the addition of Ron Miles and four DJs. When two DJs dropped out of the project, the idea of the Double Trio emerged. The group invited Miles to lead what became a second trio, thus loosening the focus on Coleman s masterpiece. They widened their scope and found inspiration in John Coltrane s landmark recording Ascension (Impulse!, 1965), which also included an expanded ensemble. The band s restyling of the Ascension themes has provided a frame of reference for listeners. The group s unique performance ability and aesthetic have a model to which it may be compared (much like measuring a musician s mettle by his/her ability to cover standards becoming jazz tradition).

Harriet Tubman Double Trio aims at achieving the same high level of performance attained by these historic recordings. The members of Harriet Tubman have been steeped in the music of the African-American avant-garde and regard these progenitors as important influences. The music created on Ascension was informed and structured using different systems of spontaneous composition learned from heralds like Coleman, Coltrane, Threadgill and Wadada Leo Smith.