Though hardly the only tubist in jazz, Londoner Theon Cross is certainly the most aggressive about spreading his vision on an international stage. Since emerging from the fertile U.K. jazz scene (for some of us, the most exciting music scene in the world right now), Cross has made a big name for himself as both sideperson (particularly in saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings’ Sons of Kemet, drummer Moses Boyd’s Exodus, and saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED Ensemble) and as a leader, with a pair of albums (Fyah and Intra-I) to his name. It’s all led to this: his live debut at the prestigious Blue Note in New York City, captured on this double live album.
Fronting a quartet featuring guitarist Nikos Ziarkas, drummer James Russell Sims, and rising sax god Isaiah Collier, Cross takes the audience on a journey, as tempos wax and wane, melodies surge, genres (jazz, rock, Afrobeat, second line) merge, and improvisation reaches insane heights. Ziarkas favors spacey tones and washes of sound over straight bop comping; Sims keeps the rhythm churning while nailing the foundation to the floor. Collier provides spectacularly spiraling solos, but never threatens to steal the spotlight from the leader. And no wonder: whether adding bottom to the arrangement in his instrument’s traditional role, or essaying blazing solos – often augmented with electronic fairy dust – that prove his axe as flexible as any other horn, Cross displays not only the chops, but the imagination to take the tuba places where it’s never been. Dial in “Candace of Meroe” or “Affirmations” for a wild ride into a world where boundaries – on instrumentation or method – don’t matter, and musical expressions conquers all.
