Soul jazz can be joyous, spiritual, romantic or political. The genre has given “The In Crowd” and “Compared to What.” So, it’s not surprising that saxophonist John Fournier found himself listening to a lot of soul jazz as he contemplated the state of the world in 2017. Fournier mentioned that to fellow musician, trumpeter Marques Carroll, who agreed that the music of Cannonball Adderley, Lee Morgan and Horace Silver was also taking an increasingly prominent space in his play list.
That conversation led to Fournier and Carroll forming a sextet that played soul jazz classics like “The Sidewinder” and lesser known tracks. The positive response transformed what was supposed to be a once a month show into a must-see event and eventually into the band the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective.
That band released the album Soulophone where they put their unique stamp on soul jazz classics, and their upcoming album It Takes a Spark to Start a Fire, which has got to be the most 2020 album title I’ve heard.
It Takes a Spark to Start a Fire drops on Oct. 30, but the Collective released the swinging single “Where Do You Go When You Dream” on Oct. 2. And when I say this tune swings, I mean it really SWINGS. The track a brassy, bouncy, bassy swing and kicking drums that recalls the swing might have heard from a Basie Band. Fournier adds vocalist Raul Midón to make that Basie connection complete. The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective swings like Basie, while Midón belts these vocals out like Joe Williams. Then he adds some B.B. King inspired guitar playing to boot.
This is simply a great song, and this First Listen features the visual treat of an artsy video created by animator Iz Mozer. Mozer said that he wanted the video to capture the “surreal experience of dreaming about an unrequited love and the places your emotional mind can carry you when you are smitten by someone.” Check the song and video out here.