{"id":5967,"date":"2015-04-02T17:23:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T17:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevernacular.com\/?p=5967"},"modified":"2015-04-02T21:06:48","modified_gmt":"2015-04-02T21:06:48","slug":"chicago-yestet-gears-up-with-music-of-empowering-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevernacular.com\/?p=5967","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Yestet gears up with music of empowering politics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fb-Button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
<\/fb:like><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"yestet\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This powerhouse 13-piece heartland jazz band shouts and signifies mightily, striving to bridge America\u2019s huge political divide by universalizing the group\u2019s social values. On the CD cover, the Yestet\u2019s name and album title adorn golden meshing gears\u2014the economic promise of an America that works together, by contrast to our dysfunctional \u201cjust say no\u201d Congress.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Trombonist-bandleader-composer-arranger Joel Adams holds passionate political viewpoints. The Madison native sometimes irked club owners who feared his pointed onstage comments might turn off customers.The band\u2019s first album\u00a0Jazz is Politics?\u00a0<\/i>(released during the last George W. Bush administration) conveyed what James Baldwin called \u201cthe fire next time,\u201d prophesizing our current race-relations crisis.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A savvier Adams now accents the positive and the progressive, with wit and populist eclecticism. The Yestet promotes purposive commonality to overcome polarization and the forsaking of the middle class and the poor.From the opening bars of \u201cIn the Here and Now,\u201d this recording bursts into your ears and head. Adams\u2019 brawny clarion trombone solo introduces vocalist Maggie Burrell, who rides kicking waves of brass with insightful commentary about social media\u2019s pitfalls of facile friendships and easy betrayals of confidence. (Continued below).<\/div>\n
\"yestet<\/div>\n
Chicago Yestet vocalist Maggie Burrell<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Yestet_2_megabone_large\"<\/div>\n
Joel Adams playing his “Mega-bone” in concert. 1<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"yestetThe Chicago Yestet. All band photos courtesy chicagoyestet.com<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Scott Burns\u2019 Coltrane-esque tenor in the modal groove bespeaks the \u201960s, and Adams\u2019 belief that jazz should emulate that era\u2019s activism.The Yestet also persuades with romantic analogy. \u201cWhat Was Ours\u201d recollects a strong relationship ruined by sexual politics.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Their populist flair includes a cover of Paul McCartney\u2019s philosophically yearning \u201cThe Long and Winding Road\u201d with an added rap spin that works. Madison rapper Rob Dz\u2019s vocal style and viewpoint blends stylish R&B allure with this hip-hop historian\u2019s grasp of the spoken-word art. Dz conveys sensuality or sagacity with a tonal flip of a switch, without typical hip-hop macho posturing.This band\u2019s bracing synergy embodies its values, without browbeating.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Their ringing message recalls Chicago political mastermind David Axelrod\u2019s \u201cYes We Can!\u201d slogan, which spearheaded Obama\u2019s first presidential campaign. These musical citizens understand the familiar weariness in pursuing our messy democracy\u2019s long and winding road. But it\u2019s still ours to reclaim, and it \u201cleads to your door.\u201d<\/div>\n
_________<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
1. Yestet bandleader Joel Adams is a native of Madison, Wisconsin and a graduate of the celebrated University of North Texas jazz program. He has toured with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd, and played with Joe Williams, Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie. He’s also worked for many years with Clyde Stubblefield, a drummer best known for his pioneering work with James Brown. In the Chicago area, Adams has performed with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, John Faddis in the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, as well as with Doug Lawrence, Jimmy Heath and Arturo Sandoval.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 The current Yestet lineup includes the great trumpeter Russ Johnson, whose own CD Still Out to Lunch!<\/em> I have reviewed here recently. Johnson moved to Milwaukee from the east coast and has added an exciting voice to the Midwest jazz scene.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Yestet CD is available on\u00a0http:\/\/www.cdbaby.com\/cd\/chicagoyestet2<\/a>\u00a0as is their first album Jazz is Politics?<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Visit the Yestet on their website at\u00a0http:\/\/www.chicagoyestet.com\/<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Yestet also has one of the best quotes I’ve read on a band’s website:<\/div>\n
“Whenever I become discouraged (which is on alternate Tuesdays, between three and four), I lift my spirits by remembering: The artists are on our side! I mean those poets and painters, singers and musicians, novelists and playwrights who speak to the world in a way that is impervious to assault because they wage the battle for justice in a sphere which is unreachable by the dullness of ordinary political discourse.”\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>— Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States<\/em> and Artists in Times of War.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This review was originally published in slightly modified form in The Shepherd Express at\u00a0https:\/\/expressmilwaukee.com\/article-25346-chicago-yestet-just-say-yes-%2528tiddlywinks%2529.html<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n