PAPATAMUS REDUX

BAXTER MUSIC 1004 (RELEASED MARCH 14, 2025)

In 2018, the city of Memphis adopted the slogan “Home of Blues, Soul and Rock & Roll.”
Did they forget jazz? After all, Memphis boasts a vibrant jazz history thanks Memphians such as Lil Hardin Armstrong, Booker Little, Phineas Newborn and Charles Lloyd to name a few. With the release of Memphis Blue, you can add bassist Rodney Jordan to the list. Along with fellow Memphian Melvin Jones on trumpet, Atlanta pianist Louis Heriveaux, Charleston-based saxophonist Mark Sterbank and native Charlestonian Quentin Baxter on drums, Jordan delivers a session that is pure Memphis. As he explains, “Much like the city of Memphis is known for not putting on airs, there’s nothing pretentious about the way we play.” Memphis Blue is a straight-ahead, no nonesense session with eight tunes steeped in the soulful and bluesy jazz for which Memphis is known. There’s the nitty-gritty down-home blues of Jordan’s title track that provides an opportunity for each member of the band to “sing” the blues. There’s the funky blues of “Hargrove,” a tune in which Jordan captures the spirit of trumpeter Roy Hargrove, the fiery blues of Mulgrew Miller’s “Small Portion,” the latin-infused blues of Jordan’s “Escapatoria” and the mercurial blues of Jones’ “The Storm Will Pass.” The band shows their bebop chops on Gigi Gryce’s “Minority” and their more reflective side on an atmospheric version of “Autumn Leaves.” Solos from Jordan, Jones, Heriveaux and Sterbank fit perfectly within the context of each tune and Baxter’s drumming provides a spark to the entire session. It’s nice to hear bassist, composer and bandleader Jordan stepping out of the shadows of his work with the Marcus Roberts Trio and tours with vocalist Rene Marie to remind us that Memphis has more music to offer than blues, soul and rock and roll. I hope the people responsible for promoting Memphis give Memphis Blue a listen!

BOTTOM LINE: Memphis Blue seems like an appropriate title for bassist Rodney Jordan’s second release. For starters, Jordan is a native of Memphis, the city that is home to jazz greats such as Booker Little, Charles Lloyd and Phineas Newborn. On a musical level, the eight tracks performed by Jordan and his quintet  that range from down-home to funky blues are steeped in the soulful jazz tradition for which Memphis is known.