James Farm Growing Fame By Dan Ouellette // Photos By Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos A Thursday night at the Jazz Standard could well be time for a sweet taste of rural jazz—that is, if you’re judging by the name of the new-fledged band assembled to make its New York debut. Bluegrasssteeped, Americana-infused Hot banjos and fine picking Distinctively no. In what is certainly the most unusual name for a jazz group since The Bad Plus controversially barreled its way onto the scene more than a decade ago, the quartet James Farm takes the stage for its packed-house show with a stellar cast: saxophonist Joshua Redman (the elder at 42), pianist Aaron Parks (the younger at 27), bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland (both in their 30s)—none of whom display any notion of hayseed cultivation even though their eponymous CD’s gatefold opens up to a photo of a fallowed field ready to be planted, and its cover is what looks to be an upside-down farmhouse. Word has already leaked that James Farm is no country outfit, but something newfangled that nonetheless promises an intriguing project that many might have assumed is Redman’s new quartet for his latest Nonesuch album— given that of the four, he’s the only musician signed to the label. But, again, expectations are quickly upended. James Farm opens the set with “1981,” a combustible Penman composition that changes speeds through a spirited stretch of groove and sax lyricism and ends in bass-piano dreaminess. Next up is a new Redman composition, “If By Air,” which swings lightly, changes tempo and adheres to a tune-like sensibility. There are the requisite displays of instrumental virtuosity—such as Redman reflecting and lifting off and Harland crisply skittering on the cymbals and driving beats with a pleasant urgency—but the solos are compact with an ear to return to the melody, which is not merely a catchy head but a full-blown song. About halfway through the set, a Redman fan squirms uncomfortably in his seat at a table near the bar, frowns and complains, “This is not Joshua.” He shakes his head and continues, “This is dumbed down like what you’d see at a festival or something.” After Redman’s bluesy and shape-shifting “Star Crossed” and Harland’s edgy-grooved, tempo-accelerating “I-10”—both crammed with exhilarating telepathic instrumental exchanges among the members—the band settles into Parks’ gem “Bijou,” which is played straight with a relaxed hush. The Redman fan says again, “This is not Joshua! It’s David Sanborn. He’s dumbing it down.” The reply to the unhappy audience member expecting to see unabated Redman pyrotechnics: “You’re right. It’s not Joshua. It’s James Farm, which is not just Joshua.” And that is the band’s story. James Farm is not Redman’s new quartet, but a collective of like-minded friends who are exploring something new—not plotting out a onetime all-star billing but letting their desire to collaborate dictate the music. When James Farm, founded in theory at the end of 2008, delivered its first onstage meeting the following year as a band, all four members had strong connective tissue from the recent past. Redman, Harland and Penman were in the SFJAZZ Collective from to 2005 to 2007, and the rhythm team synced up on Parks’ Invisible Cinema (Blue Note) and Penman’s Catch Of The Day (Fresh Sound New Talent), both released in 2008. The band made its official launch at 2009’s Montreal Jazz Festival, where Redman was asked to curate the three-show By Invitation series with his own bands, including a quintet featuring the saxophonist flanked by Joe Lovano, Sam Yahel, Reuben Rogers and Gregory Hutchinson, and then a double trio with Rogers, Hutchinson, Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade. Part three of the trilogy was the inauguration of the new collective. “We had never played together, but we were already a band,” Redman says at the Nonesuch office in Manhattan, where all the band members are amiably assembled. “It wasn’t like we put the band together for the concert. We had already started talking about playing together late in 2008. We were committed to playing together, and it just so happened that I got the invitation and everyone was available—which is a hard thing for this band, given how busy we all are.” There were three main forces at work to form James Farm: search, soul and song. “Hands down, it had to happen,” says Harland. “You could just feel it. I had been playing with Matt and Aaron and loving it, and I’ve always wanted to play with just Josh. I loved the quartet he had with Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade. It was a pioneering group, as if it were the next leading voice at the time they were together. They had a lot of information and great things to say.” That’s what Harland was hoping to find with James Farm: “I wanted to stand up and be in a group that has something to say in this age where there are groups after groups coming out. I wanted to associate myself with a band that has a different meaning.” At age 16, Parks met Redman when his mother took him to see the saxophonist play at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington, Del. They crossed paths over the years, but it was the pianist’s Blue Note debut, Invisible Cinema, that really got the juices 32 DOWNBEAT SEPTEMBER 2011
Saxophonist Joshua Redman (left), pianist Aaron Parks, drummer Eric Harland (kneeling) and bassist Matt Penman SEPTEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 33