''Hudson'' is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

album by drummer

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

, bassist

Larry Grenadier Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966, in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist. Early life Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his chi ...

, keyboardist

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

and guitarist

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

. The album was released on June 9, 2017 by Motéma.

Background

Hudson is the name of the quartet; it is inspired by the beauty and history of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

from which Woodstock is a few miles away. Bassist Larry Grenadier is himself a resident of the Hudson Valley. What is more, DeJohnette appeared on 1996

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...

's album '' Tales from the Hudson'', which had similar instrumentation—except for Brecker's saxophone. The quartet initially played a concert together at the 2014 Woodstock Jazz Festival; that experience encouraged the band to pursue the project, culminating in the present record. ''Hudson'' is the band's debut, eponymous album consisting of not only originals by bandmembers but also new renditions of famous songs by such musicians as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

, and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. Another relevant touchstone, unstated but clearly implied, is Miles Davis. The album also includes a new version of "Dirty Ground" (from DeJohnette's 2011 album '' Sound Travels'') recorded there with lyrics and vocals by

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

. The album clearly celebrates the music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. ''Hudson'' was recorded directly to Pro Tools at 24-bit/96 kHz at Scott Petito's NRS Recording Studio, in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

. Petito has been DeJohnette's recording engineer for some 20 years. The label's official website also states that the release celebrates Jack DeJonnette's 75th birthday.

Reception

Paul de Barros of ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' wrote, "It would be easy to dismiss the supergroup Hudson as mere boomer nostalgia, but that would overlook just how vigorous, original, engaged and downright pleasurable this welcome debut sounds.... The band jumps deep into free territory on the title-track opener, an archeo-futuristic jam that spins raunchy, fuzzed guitar and skronky keyboard clanks around a throbbing, ceremonial beat". Seth Colter Walls of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' stated, "This is not the most fiery music DeJohnette has collaborated on, in his eighth decade. But the peaceable mastery that moves through ''Hudson'' does have the distinction of feeling comfortable without being too predictable". John Fordham in his review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' added, "The group's slightly clunky Native American chanting might have been better replaced by sampled field-recordings with instrumental decoration, but this is an elite jazz outfit collectively telling a compelling new story". Nate Chinen of ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' commented "What they're creating is a top-to-bottom group improvisation—a jam, if we're being plainspoken about it—with the morphing shape of an amoeba. But over the course of a discursive and open-ended 23 minutes, a kind of structural integrity emerges, rooted in the loopy clarity of DeJohnette's groove". Writing for '' Elmore'', Jim Hynes stated, "The album is a showcase for all four of them... Given the mostly electric fare, particularly on the rock numbers, it’s tempting to call this jazz fusion but it feels different. It’s lighter."

Track listing

Personnel

– acoustic piano,

Rhodes electric piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, wooden flute, vocals *

– guitars, wooden flute *

– double bass, vocals *

– drums, tom tom, wooden flute, vocals

Production

* Jana Herzen – executive producer * Dave Love – executive producer * Hudson – producers * Scott Petito – recording, mixing, mastering * Beth Reineke – assistant engineer * Robin Tomchin – project manager * Rebecca Meek – package design * Bill Douthart – photography * Peter Occhiogrosso – liner notes * Jordy Freed - publicity

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Jack DeJohnette albums John Medeski albums John Scofield albums Larry Grenadier albums Motéma Music albums