Saxophonist/clarinetist Jeff Lederer usually pursues a theme on his recordings, from the Buddhist studies of Eightfold Path to the influence of avant-garde classical music on Schoenberg at the Beach. For the forthright Guilty!!! the subject matter is obvious: the 2024 election, and the madness that’s infused the path to get there. Joined by his regular band of Kirk Knuffke on cornet and trumpet, Bob Stewart on tuba, and Matt Wilson on drums, plus guests Curtis Hasselbring as electronics wizard, trombonist, and co-producer, and singer Mary Larose, Lederer kicks against the pricks to make the choice clear. Thus we get tracks dedicated to Representative fraud George Santos (“Cheapening the Process”), professional political wackjob Marjorie Taylor Greene (“Buzzsaw”), our non-illustrious former and potential commander-in-chief (“Deportation Operation”), and the supreme method of Congressional cockblocking, the filibuster (“Piccolo Buster”). It’s not all bad news, though, as Lederer also joins Adam Schiff’s assertion of “Guilty!!!,” reminds us we’ve been here before with a cover of Charles Mingus’ scabrous “Fables of Faubus,” and rouses the troops with his hero Albert Ayler’s “Truth is Marching In.” The brass band atmosphere and cheeky humor give the songs a good-natured buoyancy, even as the subject matter couldn’t be more serious. Lederer uses those spoonfuls of sugar wisely, making sure the medicine not only goes down, but stays down.
