Composed by Darrell Grant
Performed by Darrell Grant Quintet
Darrell Grant piano, Calvin Jones-bass, Brian Blade-drums, Scott Wendholdt-trumpet, Seamus Blake- tenor saxophone
Released: Criss Cross Records 1996
About 
The great quintet sound of hard bop (" I love the term hard bop") was the stimulus for The New Bop. For Grant that pantheon encompasses the classic: Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown-Max Roach, Horace Silver, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and the more recent: The Heath Brothers, and Wynton Marsalis. "Their music, performances and spirit are the heritage that inspired this recording. I have been moved and my musical identity has been shaped by this legacy," enthuses Grant. "The most essential group for me was probably Horace Silver's Quintet. I was totally into that music." The inspiration for these tunes and the approach to this music comes from the Silver legacy of bebop, blues, and the spiritual vibration, infused with the deeply ingrained spirit of the African Diaspora. "To me the quintet thing is about the writing and really making a coherent sound that everybody has a part of, everybody plays an integral part in the music. " The New Bop is a decidedly more involved date than its predecessor, particularly in the obvious investment Grant has made in composition and arrangement: "The tunes and the arrangements are much more involved, " he suggests rather emphatically.

It was Grant's intention to write an album and develop a sound that came directly from his compositional input as well as the care and feeding of music derived from outside sources. In this manner he hoped to craft a quintet sound that would turn its participants into a true band. Thus the success of this recording date is borne out not only in the spirited playing but also in the high level of interplay and communication among the players.

The essential element suite, Water Dreams was specifically crafted for this record date and this instrumental setting. " I always like to do a solo piano piece; it's just a lot of freedom. The first part, Beach is really a prelude. Part two of the suite, Three Views is Grant's variation on How Deep is the Ocean. I sat down and I played 'How Deep is the Ocean' and wanted to just re-harmonize that. It's funny, when I was listening to it and thinking about the title to that piece, I love water and I've always and an affinity for it. I was just thinking how water is an element that unites us, our bodies are like 98% water and water makes up most of the earth, but it also separates us!"

The New Bop

Water Dreams, Part 1

Darrell Grant is a Portland, Oregon-based jazz pianist, composer, and educator dedicated to themes of hope, community, and place.