A collaboration between the Bay Area jazz collective
Daggerboard and veteran bassist
Henry "The Skipper" Franklin, 2022's
Daggerboard and the Skipper is a sophisticated production that evokes the soulful late-'60s/early-'70s mood music
Franklin championed as the founder of the storied
Black Jazz Records. A Los Angeles native,
Franklin played with
Willie Bobo and
Hugh Masekela before making his mark with
Black Jazz Records and releasing a handful of influential funk, modal, and hard bop albums between 1971 and 1975. Working with
Daggerboard,
Franklin again draws upon this legacy, crafting a series of deeply atmospheric, cinematic tracks that feel as if they were composed for a dusky '70s neo-noir. Much of this vibe-making is due to the skills of trumpeter/composer
Erik Jekabson and percussionist/composer
Gregory Howe, the
Daggerboard members responsible for the lion's share of the music on
Daggerboard and the Skipper. Tracks like "Dream Within a Dream," "Agapanthus," and "Seven for Henry" find them framing
Franklin's woody bass lines in shimmering orchestral arrangements, wiry guitar accents, and dewy opaque vibraphone harmonies. Equally potent cuts like "Involuntary Separation" and "Oaxacan Standoff" marry spectral Middle Eastern harmonies with roiling jazz grooves. Try to imagine a blend of
Miles Davis' large-ensemble work with arranger
Gil Evans in the '60s with the kinetic, jazzy math rock of
Chicago's
Tortoise, and you'll get a sense of the heady topographical atmospheres at play on
Daggerboard and the Skipper. ~ Matt Collar
