Jazz isn’t something that comes to mind when you think Nashville. It may not come to your mind more than bluegrass or polka when you think about London. If Rahsaan Barber, rising saxophonist from Nashville, has his way, and judging by Everyday Magic’s instant appeal, you can’t bet that he won’t — a shift is coming to Music City’s traditional image. Barber said, “When I tell New York friends that there are so many great jazz musicians in Nashville,” adding that he has been an integral part of the city’s music scene since his thirties, as a performer and a studio musician as well as an educator. It can be difficult at times. It can be difficult, but I have been a local kid and have heard many of these musicians. So, I really hope to bring attention to them.” Barber wrote, organized, and produced “Everyday Magic”, his second album as leader. He was supported by his extraordinary band, also called Everyday Magic. It features Adam Agati as guitarist, Jody Nardone as pianist, Jerry Navarro as bassist, and Nioshi Jackson the drummer. Everyday Magic, which is also El Movimiento’s radio-friendly 2010 debut, features guitarist Adam Agati, pianist Jody Nardone, bassist Jerry Navarro, and drummer Nioshi Jackson. It’s proof positive that you can live and work in the country”’s music capital while still producing uncompromising, original Jazz. That is evident from Everyday Magic’s first cut, “Jubilee”, a brazen tenor saxophone vehicle playing in the John Coltrane style that also shows the influence of Kenny Garrett, Coltrane acolyte. Jazz isn’t any deeper nor more boisterous than the “Why So Blue?”, a supercharged lowdown version of blues. It features Roland Barber, Rahsaan’s twin trombonist, who performs off Rahsaan’s raspy testifying vocal on tenor with an exuberant muted solo that recalls his time playing with Al Grey, the great trombonist, shortly before his death. Rahsaan and Roland? Yes, they were. The twins were born April 2, 1980. They have recorded and played together in Barber Brothers Jazz Quintet. Their names are after Rahsaan Roland, a 1960s jazz legend. (Captured on The One Man Twins 1996 Rhino video). Roland was already used on their mother’s side. Their father wanted names with the same initials RJB. Rahsaan said, “My father is a radical.” He was determined to challenge more conventions than just a few of those names. There wasn’t much African Americans at Vanderbilt back then.” This is where his parents met and became students. The Barbers were a family that loved music. Robert, Rahsaan’s older brother, plays the saxophone. He has also sat in Rahsaan’s TrioSoul with Moe Denham, a former Gatemouth Brown organist. Their father is a Memphis judge and their mother is a singer. Their grandmother, a classical, gospel and blues pianist, passed on her love for Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas to Rahsaan. Rahsaan was inspired by his older brother and took up saxophone. Roland began fifth grade wanting to play the oboe, but switched to trombone. Their musical outlook was shaped in part by Sunday church visits to their gospel church. The Marsalis clan, the first family to embrace jazz, had a profound influence on the twins. They were musicians, but also young Southerners who are passionate about jazz culture. They crowded into the kitchen together as children to play. Their father, a Memphis native who was also a Memphisan, would regularly take them to Beale Street where they jammed as teens. Rahsaan was not familiar with A Love Supreme when he went to Indiana University to study music at the renowned David Baker. Baker was captivated by the Barbers “originality and depth” and “mature.” After hearing it, Rahsaan’s commitment to John Coltrane was heightened. He said, “His instrument had such dominating authority.” It was intense and invested in the moment, which I enjoyed on an emotional level. McCoy Tyner’s compositions, and his playing were also my favorite.” Stanley Turrentine was a towering tenor who had a different impact on Rahsaan. He was so gritty, engaging, and so soulful. Barber said that the same thing that attracted me to Ray Charles’s singing captured me about Turrentine.” Barber paid tribute on “Song for Stanley T,” which was recorded for TrioSoul (2006). I was impressed by his versatility and ability to play at different tempos. His recording of the Beatles’ ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ song was so pocket-friendly and so soulful. I was a singer’s child and gravitated towards melody. “I loved Dexter and Mobley and Getz, all four of them.” Barber is one of four Americans who performed at the 2003 World Saxophone Competition at Montreux Jazz Festival. He plays alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, as well as flute on Everyday Magic. The gospel-infused “Manhattan Grace” is one of the highlights. It was inspired by Barber’s time spent at Manhattan Grace Tabernacle with a pastor and his family while he studied for his Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. The playful Barber niece and nephew’s song “Innocence” features a Jackson-esque stutter-step solo and a neat interplay between Barber and Agati on soprano. “Memphis Soul,” with Roland Barber and El Movimiento drummer Giovanni Rodriguez, is a groove-tight and electronically enhanced tribute to the Barber brothers’ Memphis childhood. Rahsaan used to play baseball on the streets and watch pro wrestling with his grandmother. Rahsaan plays the flute on “Adagio,” a rare move that he made to make better meditative music in a spa. This was more than a dare to create better music for a spa, as he wanted to create music that would be soothing and calming. Country music and jazz have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship. It started with Bob Wills’ swinging Texas Playboys, and then moved forward with more modern players like Jerry Douglas and Bill Frisell. Barber said that Nashville has many musical styles. He’s played with many artists, including Roy “Futureman”, Wooten and the Temptations. “”There is a unique opportunity here, to build a sound. This was something that I was always interested, whether it was Earth Wind or Roy Wooten.
