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Julius Rodriguez:
Evergreen
| Label |
Verve 00602465376753 |
| recorded |
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| online distribution |
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| Julius Rodriquez |
clarinet, guitar, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, bass, drums |
| Nicole McCabe |
alto sax |
| Chris Lewis |
tenor sax |
| Emilio Modeste |
sax |
| Alonzo Demetrius |
trumpet |
| Keyon Harrold |
trumpet |
| Nate Mercereau |
guitar, synthesizer |
| Declan Miers |
bass |
| Philip Norris |
bass, drums |
| Jermaine Paul |
bass |
| Brian Richburg jr |
drums |
| Luke Titus |
drums |
| Jay Adlher |
vocals |
| Georgia Ann Muldrow |
vocals |
01: Mission Statement
02: Funmi’s Groove
03: Around The World
04: Road Rage
05: Many Times
06: Rise And Shine
07: Run To It (The CP Song)
08: Love Everlasting
09: Stars Talk
10: Champion’s Call
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While Julius Rodriguez, born in 1998, proved to be a swinging tradition-lover with his own ideas about sound on his 2022 debut "Let Sound Tell All", he now shows himself to be much more of a child of his age cohort on the follow-up. Rodriguez, who is already highly talented on the piano, synthesizer and drums, takes the multitasking that is a matter of course for Generation Z even further by picking up the clarinet, electric bass and various guitars on "Evergreen".
And the pieces also thrive on the refusal to commit to a clear definition. They use genre fluids from different eras, sometimes reminiscent of Moog-infused fusion evocations from the 1970s with angularly programmed contemporary piano ("Mission Statement"), sometimes of the ironic retro soul of bands like Vulfpeck ("Run To It"), sometimes of melancholic autotune pop ("Road Rage").
The amazing thing about the recording is how tidy and unpretentious it is despite the variety of musical information popping up simultaneously. Rodriguez, who is notable as a soloist on piano and drums, has a good knack for curating the contributions of a number of guests such as singer Georgia Anne Muldrow, trumpeter Keyon Harrold and alto saxophonist Nicole McCabe in such a way that they develop a similar addictive potential to TikTok without slipping into banality. Combined with the positive, sometimes downright exuberant mood (listen tip: "Many Times"), "Evergreen" has an effect that is contagious across generations.
Josef Engels @ www.rondomagazin.de (transl. by Google)
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