DARIUS JONES TRIO ..Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) ..AAUM057

NEW YORK TIMES – Critic’s Choice
“Darius Jones has the capacity for a proud, rafters-raising tone on alto saxophone, and as an improviser he’s fearless but disciplined. (...) A couple of months ago he released “Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing),” a robustly accomplished debut that confirms not only the blunt fact of his arrival but also the ceaseless vitality of his chosen tradition. A keen awareness of that tradition underpins the album, for reasons of spirit and style. Mr. Jones, who is in his early 30s, wisely teamed up with a pair of sympathetic mentors, the drummer Rakalam Bob Moses, 61 , and the multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore, 63. Their interaction is open-hearted and intense (...) it adds up to a powerfully soulful blend." –Nate Chinen

“..with expressive glissandi as opulently sensual as that of Johnny Hodges, and a knack for flipping innocent melodic utterances into lines fraught with chancy harmonic and rhythmic ambiguities, Jones’s concept is proudly his own. This record poses big questions about the relationship between the African-American tradition of spirituals, blues and gospel, and now.” –THE WIRE (January 2010), Philip Clark

“..brimming with intricacy and raw, soulful invention. .. [on the achingly beautiful ballads] time seems to be suspended while the three musicians breath slowly as one.” –SIGNAL TO NOISE (Winter 2010), Marc Medwin

VILLAGE VOICE 2009 JAZZ CRITIC'S POLL =  #17 / BEST DEBUT = #2

NPR / A BLOG SUPREME / The Year-End List Of Lists 2009
Favorite debut records of 2009:
2. Darius Jones, Man'ish Boy
Why this year is the year of the saxophone trio, in no particular order:
3. Darius Jones, Man'ish Boy
Best uses of unconventional instruments, 2009:
3. Cooper-Moore, diddley-bow

ALL ABOUT JAZZ-NEW YORK: BEST DEBUT RELEASES 0F 2009

THE JAZZ SESSION (by Jason Crane) TOP 10 JAZZ CDs of 2009 = #3 / BEST DEBUT CD

Hank Shteamer (Time Out NY) on THE GIG (NY Times critic Nate Chinen's blog) year-end email roundtable conversation: Supergroup Outbreak, But No Generation Gap   “Take 31-year-old saxist Darius Jones, who tapped two under-appreciated veterans -- pianist and diddley-bo expert Cooper-Moore (63), and drummer Rakalam Bob Moses (61) -- for his powerful debut, Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), a gutsy, blues-infused free-jazz session that came in at No. 5 on my year-end list. Cooper-Moore and Moses each have lengthy résumés to draw on, but Jones isn’t interested in nostalgic references. Like Them Crooked Vultures, Man’ish Boy sounds vigorous and inventive, with the younger player lighting a fire under his elders and vice versa.”

JazzTimes – Critics Picks: Top 50 New Albums = #36

BOSTON GLOBE – Top 10 Jazz albums for 2009
Darius Jones Trio. Man’ish Boy. “The young saxophonist plays both raucously and sweetly, and he puts every genre at his disposal, from blues to swing to free improvisation.”

BOSTON PHOENIX – 2009: The Year in Jazz
• Darius Jones Trio
“Alto-saxophonist Jones, 31, now lives in Brooklyn (natch), but he hails from rural Virginia, and he likes churchy old blues, boogie-woogie, and the kind of folkish tunes that Albert Ayler used to write. On Man'ish Boy (AUM Fidelity), his music sounds older than old — ancient, in fact — but also completely up to the minute. Working with Boston drummer Bob Moses and New Yorker Cooper-Moore (who plays piano and his homemade diddley bow), Jones delivers forceful melodies with a just-discovered freshness. The trio's show at Outpost 186 in October was a standout.”

DESTINATION: OUT – FAVE JAZZ JAMZ OF 2009
Darius Jones Trio. Man’ish Boy.
The future is tomorrow. Taking the rough with the smooch.

LOVEGLOOM Blog: Top 10+ of 2009
“Darius Jones erupted out of the gates with wide vibrato and a curious sense of sadness and wonder aimed at the world.  Only an authentic motherfucker could get Cooper-Moore and Bob Moses to back him up on a debut record.”

"A phenomenal debut, Man'ish Boy presents the singular artistry of Darius Jones .."
.....–All About Jazz (full review), Troy Collins

"Best Debut Release of 2009"
.....–ALL ABOUT JAZZ - New York

"It's always very exciting when you come across a new name in the music, and especially someone with a fully formed, distinctive sound."
.....–BBC – JAZZ ON 3, Jez Nelson

"On Man’ish Boy, alto saxophonist Darius Jones delivers one of the most impressive debuts in recent memory, displaying a remarkably well-developed concept and individual sound. .. Jones has a big, fleshy, lived-in tone, with a vibrato that owes as much to Johnny Hodges as it does to Albert Ayler. It’s defiant, vulnerable, proud, and weary; there is laughter and sobbing in it. He imbues simple melodies and phrases with huge emotional weight. .. Amazingly, there’s little sense of two veterans supporting a younger, less experienced player. They sound like a trio of peers, which bodes well for this exciting new voice.
.....–Point of Departure, Ed Hazell

"The best music tells you something not only about the musicians, but about yourself. Man’ish Boy is that kind of record. It’s not just good. It’s important. And we are the richer for its existence... For his debut statement, 31-year-old Jones wanted to tell his story. To talk about what it means to be poor and black and struggling and intelligent in this day and age. Jones has fit all that and more into an incredible recording that will make you sing, make you weep and make you marvel."
.....–Pop Dose, Jason Crane

The Jazz Session Interview Feature:
.....“This powerful and beautiful album is an important statement by a voice that needs to be heard.”

"[Darius has got] a head full of ideas and a heart full of talent. He never wastes a note or a breath."
.....–JazzTimes, Steve Greenlee

"This is the finest sax trio disc of the year. Don't miss out on this rambunctious treasure!"
.....–Downtown Music Gallery, Bruce Lee Gallanter

"An alto saxophone player whose sound drips with passion .. Jones has a talent for penning intensely emotional themes, which provide a fertile launching pad for his vibrato-laden alto preaching. .. the valedictory, elegiac "Forgive Me" sounds like a newly found spiritual, with some of most beautiful sounds ever committed to disc.”
.....–All About Jazz, John Sharpe

"Each time we’ve seen Jones play, we’ve been seriously impressed with the sheer gut-level intensity he projects, whether he’s blasting out a furiously minimal riff or digging into a deep blues groove."
.....–Time Out New York (full post), Hank Shteamer

"Man'ish Boy offers a superb listening experience that runs the gamut of human emotions .. Darius Jones' recording debut as a leader turned out to be one of the jazz highlights of 2009. This sets the bar pretty high for the young saxophonist's next move."
.....–All Music Guide, François Couture

Darius Jones – For the Love of the Craft
.....RVANews/RVAJazz (Richmond, VA city news/arts website) Feature Interview

Catching up... Darius Jones and post-summer jazz records:
.....Perfect Sounds