The digitally encoded pudding contains the ultimate proof

Brad Jones AKA Alias Uncivilized Poise (Knitting Factory Records, 1999)
Reviewed by Micah Holmquist
October 24, 1999

Interactions between rap and jazz are far from rare. The list includes artists such as Digable Planets and goes all the way to Lou Bega’s current hit "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of YOU.)" Bassist Brad Jones has a new release called Uncivilized Poise that also fits into this category.

If only partially, that is. The packaging describes this as what might happen if Cab Calloway got together with Jay-Z." This advertising makes the assumption that such a meeting would be a good thing. More likely though is that any such encounter would fail miserably and for good reason. Fortunately this is an entirely different album. The rap/jazz hybrid only happens on two tracks. Both feature the rhymes of Beans and are worth listening to but only for the music. "Black Bread" is the name of the first, which opens with a soul-jazz groove before changing into more traditional —that is modern jazz- garb. The most impressive element of this cut is some fine soloing by saxophonist Rabe Debellis. The tune called "Po Man’s Ecstasy" is even better. It opens with what sounds like stereotypical new music. That ends quickly when Debellis chimes in with some more good work. Debellis is not daring but rather wonderfully competent. Guitarist David Gilmore is critical for the changes in the songs tempos and is the highlight of this track all around. Jeff Lawrence plays the keyboards on this disc and also gets in some fine lines on this track. The rap parts of these songs are not good however. Beans may be a talented performer but he does not show it here. Despite a cool name he comes across as uninspired and badly in need of direction.

That description unfortunately also describes other parts of Uncivilized Poise. D.K. Dyson does the vocals on two unmoving cuts. Dyson is not bad so much as mediocre and predictable. One called "Hope Road" is just a standard jazz ballad while "The Intrepid Storm" is no more than commercial R&B. The disc would be better off sans both.

There is still a lot to like here, however. Jones is an experienced player and composer. Prior to this he has worked with Muhal Richard Abrams, Ornette Coleman, and Elvin Jones amongst others. The bass opens a number of the tunes but rarely stays out in front or in the way. More often than not he is willing to just let others do their thing as he does so wonderfully to Gilmore’s shredding in "Are We Having Fun Yet?" The disc’s real highlight though is "3 Guesses." This slow tune comes in at just under 4 and a half minutes and is a great reason for headphones were created. Bass playing opens the pieces with an occasional cymbal sound from drummer Abe Fogle or a splash from Lawrence. Gilmore then enters as a bizarre rumble fills what remains underneath it all. All of the players proceed save Fogle and Jones proceed to solo in ways that call forth both classical and jazz traditions. This is powerful and subtle stuff. Jones should steer clear of tradition and hybrids. Instead he needs to embrace the type of material found in "3 Guesses."

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