Geof Bradfield Quintet - Our Roots (2015)

For his latest quintet recording, Chicago saxophonist and composer Geof Bradfield borrows inspiration from fellow Chicagoan Clifford Jordan's 1965 Atlantic album, 'These Are My Roots: The Music of Lead Belly. ' The focus is on Black music of the rural south - the spirituals and blues of itinerant Texas preacher Blind Willie Johnson, ring shouts from the Georgia Sea Islands, and the prison farm work songs of Lead Belly. The absence of a chordal instrument allows the ensemble to explore the open-ended nature of these folk forms. Bradfield is joined on 'Our Roots' by four of the premier musicians on the Chicago scene: trumpeter Marquis Hill, trombonist Joel Adams, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall. 'Geof Bradfield's writing is a revelation.