Jesssica Jones: Edible Flowers

REVA RECORDS 1004 (RELEASED JANUARY 3, 2025)

The Covid lockdown put a halt to the 2020 West Coast Tour of the Jessica Jones Quartet. Fortunately, they were able to record before some of the members headed back to the East Coast. After that session, the band feasted on a meal prepared by bassist Stomu Takeishi that included salad adorned with edible flowers. Five years later, we get to feast on the music they created that day with the release of Edible Flowers. It’s a delectable mix of tunes that showcase the writing and playing of tenor players Jessica and her husband Tony Jones, the slinky electric bass of Takeishi and the fluid rhythms of drummer Deszon Claiborne. The musical meal begins with “Manhattan,” a tune written by Jessica Jones that captures the intensity of that city with an Ornette Coleman quartet vibe. Then the band serves up the Tristano mood of “Bird’s Word,” written by Connie Crothers, who Jones recorded with in 2011. The two saxes play unison lines and swirl around one another on “No Relation/Just Us,” an original that starts slow, builds and then resolves in the same way it began. The tenors vamp over Takeishi and Claiborne’s introduction to Jackie McLean’s “Little Melonae,” before they state the familiar melody in unison and then explore the tune in greater detail. For dessert, the band serves up two originals with an edgy funkier beat — “Higher Than” and “Soft Target.” Both are ideal tunes to feature the solid and creative playing of both Takeishi and Claiborne. This is the sixth release from the Jessica Jones Quartet and Claiborne’s first appearance with the group. Let’s hope they don’t wait for the next pandemic for the next release. Edible Flowers is making hungry for more.

BOTTOM LINE: Unlike the tenor battles of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt or Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, the two-tenor front line of husband and wife Jessica and Tony Jones are more complimentary than combative on Edible Flowers. Supported by bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Deszon Claiborne, the two tenors play melodies in unison and swirl around each other during solos on four originals as well as a tune from Jackie McLean and Connie Crothers.