Rahsaan Barber: Six Words

JAZZ MUSIC CITY (RELEASED SEPTEMBER 2024)

In 2021, saxophonist Rahsaan Barber released a double CD featuring 15 of his original compositions. His music reminded me of the soul and swagger of some classic Strata East dates from the 1970s. Using some of the same musicians (Roland Barber on trombone and Matt Endahl on piano), Barber has issued another recording of his compositions titled Six Words, a suite composed of six pieces that run the gamut from the anthem like “Unity Part I” to the Latin-inspired “Sun Dance.” There are ballads, such as “Remembering Roy,” which he dedicates to trumpeter Roy Hargrove and soul searching tunes such as “Reach.” Sadly, the spontaneity and spark of the early Mosaic session has been replaced with repetitive rhythms, intricate horn ensembles and solos whose energy and excitement seem to be more forced than real. Barber was inspired to write Six Words based on a six-word statement by Wynton Marsalis – “There is power in this music.” That may very well be true, but the composed suite, well-crafted arrangements and routine solos of Six Words lack the power that was much more prevalent on Barber’s earlier release.

BOTTOM LINE: According to the liner notes, Rahsaan Barber composed the Six Words suite to inspire, unify, heal, grieve, protest and to deeply express all manner of human emotion and experience. A worthy goal, but Six Words misses the mark, leaving you waiting for moments of magic.