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Saxophonist Bennett Wood releases new recording Space in Time is my debut album as a leader. The title track draws inspiration from the books Only the Ball Was White by Robert Peterson and The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski. Both works highlight the incredible athletic feats and adversity faced by black baseball players in the professional negro leagues. As a lifelong baseball junkie, reading about Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige, and other greats was impactful. They were all-time greats whose achievements were not celebrated and recognized to the same degree as their white counterparts during their lifetimes. As I wrote “Space in Time” I thought about those players and more generally, the state of the human condition. None of us get to choose the time in which we live, but we have the choice to bring light into the moments we are given. The album features Grammy-nominated trombonist and composer Alan Ferber on the Latin-tinged modal vehicle “Fourth Wall” and the quirky, Thelonious Monk inspired “Obfuscation.” I met and began working with Ferber around 2021. He was living in St. Louis at the time and injected such wonderful energy and artistry into the scene. I was delighted to have the opportunity to feature him on the record. On “Obfuscation, ” which was written with a humorous, almost sarcastic tone, Alan comes out swinging with such joyous, playful ideas that perfectly match that vibe. The rhythm section features pianist Andrew Ouellette, bassist Bob DeBoo, and drummer Joseph Winstein-Hibbs. Ouellette, currently based in Kansas City, originally hails from my hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. Andrew and I narrowly missed attending high school together, I’m several years older. At one point during my undergrad years, while home over the holidays, I remember going to his parents’ house and showing him some things I had learned at school. The next time I played with him, he was outshining all of us. While it’s fun to joke that whatever pointers I gave him all those years ago set him on his current trajectory, Andrew has always been an incredibly melodic improvisor and a sensitive accompanist. His playing on the record is brilliant. Bob DeBoo’s name is familiar to subscribers of the popular Open Studio jazz education platform, spearheaded by pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness. He’s also toured and performed extensively with folks like David Sanborn and Montez Coleman. DeBoo’s contributions to the record extend beyond the consummate groove of his bass lines or his lyrical improvisation. DeBoo is a “musical instigator.” I mean that in the best way possible. He loves to push the music to new and interesting places, but it never feels forced, because he has such an intuition about what needs to happen next. If you’re paying attention, Bob can direct the music to places it wouldn’t otherwise go. Drummer Joseph Winstein-Hibbs’ swinging sensitivity on the drum set is the lynchpin for the album. In addition to being a top-notch drummer, Joe is a jazz pianist. That depth of knowledge impacts the way he listens and responds at the drum kit. As a saxophonist, he gives me great freedom. I can play with a wider timbral palate because of the space and dynamic range that Joe utilizes. The choice to end the record with “For All We Know, ” a tune commonly performed as a ballad might raise an eyebrow, but this is not a Real Book reading of the standard. The rolling momentum of the rhythm section maintains a feeling of unfolding possibility in a dramatic reharmonization of the tune. I love the interplay between great lyrics and beautiful melodies. Sam Lewis’ lyric is gorgeous throughout, but it’s summed up in the last line where he writes “tomorrow was made for some / tomorrow may never come / for all we know.” I wanted to find harmonic colors that express the lyric as I read it. I initially conceived the reharmonization while working to emotionally process the loss of a friend to suicide in 2018, but my experience of that lyric took on additional complexity with the sudden death of my mother due to complications from a hemorrhagic stroke in 2022. For me, there’s a throughline from “Space in Time, ” the opening chords of which came to me while sitting at the piano with my mother physically there at my side, to “For All We Know.” About Bennett Wood Bennett Wood is a freelance musician, composer and clinician. He was recently appointed as Director of Jazz Studies at Webster University. He previously held academic appointments at the University of Memphis, Mineral Area College, Texas State University, Texas Lutheran University, and Texas A&M University-Kingsville and served as the Interim Director of Education and Community Engagement and Education Coordinator at Jazz St. Louis. Wood is an experienced bandleader and an in-demand sideman. In addition to leading his own groups at nationally recognized venues, including Crosstown Arts, the Elephant Room, and Jazz St. Louis, Wood has performed alongside internationally acclaimed musicians including Nat Adderley Jr., Ralph Bowen, Chris Cheek, John Clayton, Alan Ferber, Andre Hayward, Sean Jones, Doug Lawrence, Butch Miles, Allison Miller, Greg Osby, Bruce Saunders, Maria Schneider, Terrell Stafford, and Kenny Werner. Wood earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. He holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. |
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