The ever-proflic saxophonist Jon Irabagon follows last year’s remarkable Server Farm with a pair of albums that couldn’t be more different than each other. Focus Out, featuring the Rising Sun band that consists of pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Dan Weiss, draws on elements of bebop, hard bop, funk, and groove music, seeking a singularity of Irabagon’s own. The title track contains the thesis, starting out with a danceable rhythm from Lightcap and Weiss and accessible riffs from the leader, before evolving into a furious superspeed swing that sets Irabagon up for a spiraling solo.
The band also invites some of their pals in on the fun – vocalist KOKAYI adds freewheeling spiels to the salsa-flavored “Paper Planes” and the moodier “Indigo Stains,” while trumpeter Dave Ballou challenges Irabagon with urgent riffing on “Planes” and “Evening Star.” The raging postbop of the latter boasts a three-sax lineup, as Irabagon locks horns with fellow mavericks Donny McCaslin and Mark Shim. Inserting a different flavor to the furious bopping going around, guitarist Miles Okazaki adds bluesy guitar to “Stains” and textural damage to “Star.” The middle songs of the record aren’t just performances – they’re a party.
Irabagon takes us out with “Prayer (for Reomi),” a gorgeous, timeless celebration of beauty, and “Center Post,” a tune so straightahead it’s the closest thing to retro its creator to which has ever come. Though eclectic in style, the composer’s vision holds the record together in tone, making Focus Out one of Irabagon’s best records yet. `
Less a companion piece than a parallel project, Saturday’s Child features a set of bass saxophone improvisations with fellow woodwinder Dan Oestreicher, best known as one of Trombone Shorty’s sidekicks. The bass sax is an instrument with a deep, resonant, burbling sound that almost (almost) can’t be taken entirely seriously, and the musicians lean into that. Mind you, there’s nothing overtly comedic about tunes like “Daycare Infantry” and “Sugar Rush” (which appears twice, one a “radio edit” with drummer Mike Pride added). But the duo loves making vaguely rude noises as much as they do digging deep into spontaneously composed melodies, and the result is an album that’s playful, whimsical, and emblematic of a pair of buddies whose goal is to have a good time together. The absolutely adorable artwork – a series of crayon drawings by Irabagon’s daughter Xalyra is a delightful bonus.
