Darius Jones: Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)

  Alto saxophonist Darius Jones conjures a pungent and complex tone out of his horn, with forceful lines and a genuinely exciting way of moving from phrase to phrase. On Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye), he gets astute accompaniment from bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Gerald Cleaver. The results are magically entrancing as Jones plays like a man possessed. In a brief liner note, he writes that the “stigmatization of trauma and mental health prevented me from getting the help I needed to start healing my wounds ... Just as we do for our physical health, we must create space for our mental health.” A large portion of Jones’ healing process consists of his ambitious Man’ish Boy project. Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) is the seventh of nine CDs. Each album features a different line-up, and all, except for his solo effort on Northern Spy, have been released on the critically acclaimed AUM Fidelity label. Jones composed all the pieces here, except for his inspired arrangement of No More My Lord, “based on a prison song recorded by Alan Lomax in Parchman, MS.” Jones is at his most fervent on this piece, buoyed by Lightcap’s resonant and plangent arco bass and Cleaver’s clattering drums. Another standout track is We Outside, structurally intriguing and powerfully executed by the trio. It starts out as a dialogue for Lightcap and Cleaver with occasional bursts of Jones’ alto sax as commentary. Jones takes charge around the half-way point of the eleven minute track, building an ornate and increasingly authoritative solo. For a delicious contrast, We Inside Now follows. As the title suggests, this is a sweet ballad, lovingly limned by the trio in an ultra-slow tempo. While Jones’ sometimes daunting intensity brings to mind such luminaries of the alto sax as Jimmy Lyons and Marshall Allen, on We Inside Now, he displays his softer and more vulnerable side. Jones’ epic project puts Albert Ayler’s dictum that “music is the healing force of the universe” into practice. Heartily recommended. 

AUM Fidelity AUM120; Darius Jones (as) Chris Lightcap (b) Gerald Cleaver (d); Brooklyn, NY, no dates specified; Affirmation Needed/ Another Kind of Forever/ No More My Lord/ We Outside/ We Inside Now/ Motherfuckin Roosevelt; 55:17. aumfidelity.com