Grass Roots (Grass Roots album)

Grass Roots is the eponymous debut album by the free jazz collective quartet consisting of Sean Conly on bass, Alex Harding on baritone sax, Darius Jones on alto sax and Chad Taylor on drums. It was recorded in 2011 and released on the AUM Fidelity label.^[1]

Grass Roots
Studio album by Grass Roots
Released	2012
Recorded	August 26, 2011
Studio	Systems Two, Brooklyn
Genre	Jazz
Length	58:54
Label	AUM Fidelity
Producer	Grass Roots, Steven Joerg
Darius Jones chronology
Book of Mæ'bul (Another Kind of Sunrise) (2012) Grass Roots (2012) Lung (2013)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Down Beat	[2]

The Down Beat review by Joe Tangari says "The opening minute of Grass Roots is one of the most inviting and warmly joyful introductions I’ve ever heard to an album that deals mostly in free playing."^[2]

The All About Jazz review by Mark F. Turner describes the album as "the exceptional debut by a newly formed collective who sound like they've been playing together for decades."^[3]

In his review for JazzTimes Mike Shanley notes that "All four of these musicians are involved in several different projects, but hopefully they’ll have opportunities to give this one the priority it deserves."^[4]

The Exclaim! review by Bryon Hayes states "A shared ecstasy shines forth in each second of this recording — these guys literally enjoy making music together and demonstrate such a powerful idea through the sounds they produce. What an amazing thing to celebrate."^[5]

The Point of Departure review by Troy Collins notes that "Together these four sublimate ego for mutual ideology; each contributes to the writing process, with obvious consideration paid towards maintaining a unified group sound.. Grass Roots conveys the egalitarian nature behind its name with infectious enthusiasm."^[6]

Track listing

1. "Hotttness" (Darius Jones) – 8:01
2. "Lovelorn" (Darius Jones) – 9:16
3. "Ricochet" (Grass Roots) – 3:51
4. "Schnibbett" (Sean Conly) – 11:50
5. "Flight AZ 1754" (Alex Harding) – 6:39
6. "Whatiss" (Chad Taylor) – 10:45
7. "Hovering Above'" (Grass Roots) – 8:32

Personnel

• Sean Conly – double bass
• Alex Harding - baritone saxophone
• Darius Jones - alto saxophone
• Chad Taylor – drums

References

1. Grass Roots Archived 2015-09-08 at the Wayback Machine at AUM Fidelity
2. Tangari, Joe. Grass Roots review. Down Beat December 12: page 82. Print.
3. Turner, Mark F. Grass Roots review at All About Jazz
4. Shanley, Mike (13 January 2013). "Grass Roots: Grass Roots". JazzTimes. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
5. Hayes, Bryon. Grass Roots review at Exclaim!
6. Collins, Troy. Grass Roots review at Point of Departure