Remember Their Innocence

Remember Their Innocence
Studio album by Onaje Allan Gumbs
Publication (s)	2005
Label (s)	Ejano Music
Format (s)	CD
Genre (s)	Modern jazz , postbop
Title (number)	11
running time	01:09:03
occupation	Piano , synthesizer : Onaje Allan Gumbs Soprano saxophone , tenor saxophone : Roger Byam Alto saxophone : Sadao Watanabe Double bass : Kenny Davis , Marcus McLaurine , Miriam Sullivan Drums : Billy Kilson , George Gray , Vince Ector Trumpet : Eddie Allen Percussion : café Singing : Branice McKenzie , Dennis Collins Language : Sharrif Simmons Harmonica : Grégoire Maret Guitar : Lenny Argese , Romero Lubambo
chronology Return to Form (2003) Remember Their Innocence Sack Full 0f Dreams (2007)

Remember Their Innocence is a jazz album by Onaje Allan Gumbs . The recordings were released on April 12, 2005 on the musician's own label Ejano Music.

background

The album consists of 14 original compositions by the pianist, covering a wide range of musical styles, wrote Ken Dryden. His core band includes saxophonist Roger Byam , bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Billy Kilson . The album material they played includes titles in the post-bop idiom such as “Healing Zone”, the driving “Innerchange” and the jazz waltz “Crystal Images”, with Marcus McLaurine on bass and George Gray on drums, plus the Trumpeter Eddie Allen . There are also tracks by gumbs with references to Brazilian music, including the samba number “Virgo Rising” and the bossa nova “Sol Brilho”, recorded with the guitarist Romero Lubambo , the alto saxophonist Sadao Watanabe and the percussionist Café.

Track list

Sadao Watanabe (2008), guest soloist in "Sol Brilho"

• Onaje Allan Gumbs: Remember Their Innocence (Ejano 711-1)

1. Prologue 1:31
2. Healing Zone 5:42
3. Remember Their Innocence 6:42
4. Sol Brilho (Sunshine Of Dreams) 5:12
5. Innerchange 4:56
6. Maybe Next Year 4:20
7. All I Hear (Quiet Passion) 6:16
8. Virgo Rising 5:00
9. Crystal Images 6:53
10. You Just Don't Know 5:08
11. Playtime 4:16
12. Shadowlight 5:25
13. Your Love 5:52
14. Epilogue 1:43

reception

Ken Dryden gave the album four stars in Allmusic and said that perhaps the most striking track is Gumbs' only piano solo of the sessions, the adventurous "Playtime". As Gumbs ventures into crossover performances, the writer notes, things are less consistent. While “Maybe Next Year” was a pleasant ballad with the singer Branice McKenzie , the thoughtful poetry of Sharrif Simmons in “All I Hear (Quiet Passion)”, although supported by a gentle jazz groove, quickly became tiring. Gumbs also add a redundant synthesizer to several tracks , although most pieces would have sounded better without it. Despite these small caveats, the musicality used in the recording of this CD deserves recognition, and fans of Gumbs' previous work as a leader should take up this release without hesitation.

In his review for JazzTimes, Steve Futterman came to an ambiguous conclusion that unfortunately half of the destinations that you head towards when listening to the record are "not worth a visit". Onaje Allan Gumbs is a top-class pianist who proves his ability as a mainstream modernist on a handful of small-group titles on the album that emphasize his robust improvisation alongside a hard rhythm section - as well as hearty soloists like saxophonist Roger Byam and the Trumpeter Eddie Allen. But the intensity of these tracks diminishes when they are interspersed with light jazz, ditties, watery bossa nova and forays into the spoken word. It is a shame that Gumbs, whose last album Return to Form demonstrated his undiminished strengths as a modal bop soloist, suffered an identity crisis for too long in his career, says Futterman.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Review of Ken Dryden's album at Allmusic (English). Retrieved April 9, 2020.
2. ↑ Onaje Allan Gumbs: Remember Their Innocence at Discogs
3. ↑ Steve Futterman: Onaje Allan Gumbs: Remember Their Innocence. JazzTimes, July 1, 2005, accessed April 9, 2020 .