By Gary Fukushima | Published July 2022
The legacy of prodigious musicians from South Africa hearkens back to the 1950s, when the Jazz Epistles spawned the careers of both Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim.
But for 15-year-old Johannesburg-born Justin-Lee Schultz and his 18-year-old sister Jamie-Leigh Schultz, a better comparison can be found in Jonathan Butler, whose R&B-infused guitar playing and singing helped to entrench the jazz-fusion movement in the 1980s.
Julius Schultz was another successful South African guitarist who began to feature his young daughter Jamie-Leigh on drums at some of his concerts. Soon, her younger brother took an interest in piano and guitar, and, after moving to the U.S., the teens find themselves in musical circles of ever-spiraling-upward status, with the likes of Harry Connick Jr., Jeff Lorber and Quincy Jones, among their endorsers.
The 16-year-old bassist Jaden Baker completes this trio of J-names, producing a combustible display of virtuosity and professional polish hard to fathom as coming from any pre-college band.
The arrangements reveal a deep connection to fusion and contemporary jazz; covers of Michael Jackson melodies bookend the album, and the music is designed more for high-energy entertainment value than for artistic introspection. Yet, the unique brilliance of all three players is undeniable, particularly in the case of Justin-Lee.
Tucked near the end of the album are tributes to two keyboard mainstays: Lorber’s “Stainless Steel” features a piano solo by Justin-Lee of endlessly spinning eighth-note passages (followed by a blazing guitar solo by — you guessed it — Justin-Lee), while “Got A Match?” by the late Chick Corea pushes the band into straightahead Akoustic Band territory, the shifting harmonies and brisk tempo not a problem at all for the trio.
It’s not a stretch to mention these youngsters in the same breath as Jacob Collier or Joey Alexander, ambassadors of a new generation overseeing jazz’s evolution into the unforeseeable future.
Opus One: Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough; Junebug; Vibe Cleanse; Eldos; Justice; My Playground; Look To The Sky; Hela; Stainless Steel; Got A Match?; Michael Jackson Medley. (44:37)
Personnel: Justin-Lee Schultz, piano, keyboards, synth bass (11); Jamie-Leigh Schultz, drums; Jaden Baker, bass, keyboards (5, 8, 11), trombone (2); David Mann, horns (4); Roy Cotton, strings (5).
Ordering Info: shanachie.com
