For those not in the know, Terell Stafford and Dick Oatts, along with Philly jazz-men Tim Warfield, Bruce Barth, Mike Boone and Justin Faulkner, are also part of the Temple Jazz Sextet, and have come together for a brand new recording entitled Fly With The Wind.

This newly-released album focuses on four composers - John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, and Jimmy Heath – and given that these men are among the most celebrated and influential of their day, you just know you are in for a right royal musical treat here.

1. All Members
2. Fly With The Wind
3. Naima
4. Yes I Can, No You Can’t

This exhilarating new recording, melding together six brilliant artists, and which looks loving back at some of the key figures who have shaped their voices, as well as the music as a whole, opens on Jimmy Heath’s All Members, first recorded by the saxophonist and his quartet on 1975’s Picture of Heath.

In what is a most delicately handled rebirth for the track, Barth’s arrangement gently slows the work, albeit not overly noticeably amongst the still grandstanding eagerness that the piece always had veined throughout; and which is now beholden of a delicious trumpet moment from Stafford.

Next up is McCoy Tyner’s 13 minute Fly With The Wind, from his 1976 Milestone debut, and which here never once sways from the original path of an uncompromising, and devotedly impassioned pace.

Recorded March 23, 2022 at Temple Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA, the album continues onward with John Coltrane’s exquisite work, Naima, which was first recorded for his 1959 album Giant Steps, and whose musically languorous, aching yearn isn’t overshadowed, moreover is now harmoniously-layered by these truly incredible musicians.

The last track is Yes I Can, No You Can’t, which is actually a reprise from Stafford’s 2015 tribute to Lee Morgan, BrotherLee Love, which also featured Warfield and Barth. An epic, funky, blues bar groove at heart, now inclusive of a sneaky three-part harmony, the track (from his 1976 album The Gigolo) has a veritable new lease of exuberance here with the guys, for the record, my own personal favorite of the quartet.

“For me this album represents the rich tradition of songs written by Philly composers,” says Bruce Barth, who selected and arranged the four compositions on Fly With the Wind. “I hope we captured the spirit of Philadelphia music. I think the Philly vibe, in terms of the deep feel for the rhythm and the blues and a certain deep soulfulness, comes through in the playing.”

Named for the title track from Tyner’s string-drenched 1976 Milestone debut, Fly With the Wind also allows the ensemble to bid a loving farewell to two legends close to their hearts who passed away in the last few years.

Terell Stafford in particular worked closely with both Tyner and Heath, the latter also being a dear friend and supporter of the Temple jazz program. “Their music still carries on,” Stafford eulogizes, “so that helps carry us through their loss.”

Musicians / Instruments:
Terell Stafford, trumpet
Dick Oatts, alto saxophone
Bruce Barth, piano
Tim Warfield, tenor saxophone
Mike Boone, bass
Justin Faulkner, drums