Last year we featured a rewarding album, ‘Generations’ from THE BAYLOR PROJECT. We learned that the band were essentially husband and wife team, Marcus and Jean Baylor. The anoraks amongst us recognized that Marcus was the drummer with the Yellowjackets while Jean was part of the ultra-successful Zhané. We also learned that the Project debuted in 2017 with the album, ‘The Journey’ which garnered two Grammy nominations. But it was ‘Generations’ that broke them to a wider audiences… the LP being, Marcus and Jean said, “ a sonic version of the traditional US family-sewn, heirloom quilt”.
Sonically it was an inventive hybrid of spiritual jazz and gospel flavours and you can now enjoy more via the duo’s latest album, ‘The Evening… Live At Apparatus’. As the title says, the 11 tracker is a live set, recorded over three nights in May this year at New York’s Apparatus which isn’t quite a jazz club but, we’re told, “an inter disciplinary design studio”.
The band for the show was Terry Brewer (keys), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), Keith Loftis (Saxes, Mark Williams (trombone) , Darren Barret (trumpet) and of course drummer Marcus supporting Jean’s lithe vocals. The whole “Project” are themselves supported by a lively and enthusiastic audience!
The set is a mix of “Songbook” standards (like Gershwin’s ‘Our Love Is Here To Stay’), gospel classics (like ‘Great Is The Faithfulness’) and Baylor originals (like the lovely ‘Happy To Be With You’ from the ‘Generations’ album). Soul and jazz fans might like to check out the cover of Michael Wycoff’s ‘Love Makes Me Sing’ (another song from ‘Generation’) .
THE BAYLOR PROJECT: ‘The Evening… Live At Apparatus’ is out now via Be a Light/Motown Gospel
