Consenting Adults

We Say...

Review by Charles Farrell

Consenting Adults is a canny take on mainstream '60s jazz by some of the brightest contemporary players around. The frontline consists of tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Peter Bernstein. Bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Leon Parker hold down the rhythm section duties. This is an entirely enjoyable album, if a vaguely subversive one. Actually, its subversion is part of its charm; the players fold themselves deeply into an older tradition (and it's astounding how completely they've inculcated the language of the 1960s Blue Note roster) while subtly including elements of their own vocabulary.

The feat is in how seamlessly they manage this blend. Nowhere is this more evident than on "Belief." You can hear Mehldau combining Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner as Turner mixes Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter. Bernstein then solos while channeling the ghost of Grant Green. This isn't a matter of players with nothing of their own to say stealing from their betters: it's an homage of deep understanding, and it serves as a jumping off point for less direct representation later in the album. In general, Bernstein's playing has a bluesier, more straight-ahead groove than Turner's or Mehldau's. This frees the sax and piano up, allowing them to be more discursive without losing sight of their source material. It's a strategy that works beautifully.

Consenting Adults provides an interesting choice of selections. Jackie McLean's "Little Melonae" makes two appearances (both without Mehldau), shedding some light into how the soloists rework thematic development on alternate takes. "Phantasm" is a beautiful theme with a magnificent solo by Mehldau, playing two minutes of exquisitely chosen lines while bassist Grenadier astutely shadows him. The title track is one of those Latin-flavored funk tunes at which Lee Morgan excelled. Mehldau delivers another standout solo, part Herbie Hancock, part Horace Silver, and part Papo Lucca. "From This Moment On" gives Turner the chance to tear the roof off the building. His playing manages to be simultaneously muscular and cerebral. Grenadier and Parker are 100% on the case here. Check out how they push Mehldau to more and more daring explorations during his solo.