By Suzanne Lorge | Published July 2021
On James Francies’ second Blue Note album, the pianist doesn’t so much compose music as conjure fascinating nebulae of sound. Like Flight, his 2018 label debut, the sequel continues Francies’ research into music as an abstract language grounded in the stuff of everyday life — vulnerability, resolve, love.
Several of Francies’ peers from Flight return for this date. Bassist Burniss Travis III and drummer Jeremy Dutton play on most of the tracks, saturating them with rhythm, and vibraphonist Joel Ross and guitarist Mike Moreno guest on two tunes each. In creating his genre-agnostic compositions, Francies relies heavily on the fine titration of these relationships.
Take, for instance, “My Favorite Things,” the only non-original on the album. Francies’ arrangement of this Rodgers and Hammerstein standard shifts continually in meter and color, full of vivid exchanges between the players. Likewise, “Levitate,” Francies’ composition for trio, races meteorically through an acoustic section toward an electronics-charged conclusion.
The album does breathe, however. Francies also includes two brief string interludes and several subdued vocal tracks, featuring Elliott Skinner, Bilal Oliver, Peyton Booker and Francies himself. The spoken word sections, too, give pause — especially the oral history relayed by Francies’ father, James Francies Sr., on “Freedmen’s Town.”
Purest Form: Adoration; Levitate; Transfiguration; Blown Away; Rose Water; My Favorite Things; Stratus; 713; Melting; Where We Stand; Freedmen’s Town; Eyes Wide Shut; Still Here; Oasis. (55:42)
Personnel: James Francies, keyboards, piano, vocals, spoken word; Immanuel Wilkins, alto saxophone; Joel Ross, vibraphone; Mike Moreno, guitar; Burniss Travis III, bass; Jeremy Dutton, drums; Tia Allen, viola; Marta Bagratuni, cello; Francesca Dardani, Sulamit Gorski, violin; DJ Dahi, drum programming; Peyton Booker, Elliott Skinner, Bilal Oliver, vocals; Brenda Francies, James Francies Sr., Shawana Francies, spoken word.
Ordering Info: bluenote.com
