In case you couldn’t tell from the album cover – rendered marvelously (you should pardon the pun) by Chicago artist Charley Krebs – Shawn Maxwell enjoys comic books. (Wham! Pow!) And not just comic books: Maxwell has become a minor savant of other sorts of graphic storytelling, too, such as the cartoons and television characters watched by his two young children – characters that inspired the titles for most of the tunes on this disc. 

            “I feel like my kids are controlling my life right now,” the mild-mannered saxist admits, without any noticeable regret.

            But there’s something more to the comic-art illustration for Urban Vigilante, the fourth album under Maxwell’s name. It turns out that Maxwell has recorded his previous discs in the guise of his secret identity (that well-known staple of the comic-book hero’s existence). But on this album, we get to hear him without the glasses, the mask, or any of the other polite disguises that we all use to fit in and get over.

            “In the past, when I would go in to record,” Maxwell explains, “I had this thing where instead of just playing like ‘myself,’ I would alter things a bit. I would try to fit into some sort of box of what I thought people would want to hear. But in the last year and a half, I’ve gotten much more comfortable, and I’ve decided, I’m going to do my thing. If it works, great; if not well . . . .”

            There’s no need to complete that sentence, because it indeed does work. And the noticeable new wrinkles in Maxwell’s studio persona lift his already distinctive playing to another level.

            You hear this most immediately in the unusual, even striking articulation Maxwell applies to phrase after phrase of his solos on Urban Vigilante. (Bam! Ka-boom!) At first, you might think your ears are deceiving you – or possibly that Maxwell was having a rough day in the studio, causing him to insert the unexpected accents and detachments that mark his solos on this disc. But listen again, and you’ll find that these devices have purpose; they disturb the lines in small but important ways, and it makes a world of difference. 

            “It emphasizes things in a way you don’t usually hear them,” Maxwell explains of his approach to articulation. And when added to his timbre – with its keening bittersweet urgency and swirling overtones and nearly physical presence – these devices help mold an edgy and powerful improvisatory style. Up until now, Maxwell wasn’t entirely confident that album-buyers would find this sound appealing; but lately, he says, “I’ve started thinking that if I do certain things when I’m playing ‘live,’ why should I change it when I go in the studio? I think it represents a maturing from the fear of being myself.” 

If that sounds like another staple element of the comic-book hero’s quest for identity, so be it.

            Maxwell’s decision to reveal his real musical self in his solos dovetails with the more adventurous and challenging compositions he unveils on Urban Vigilante. “Composition is the other side of the same issue,” he agrees. “For this album, I got out of my usual plan for recording an album, where I would cut certain tunes because I was thinking, ‘This isn’t “acceptable” – this isn’t what people want to hear.’ But this time, I went for what I felt was right, and for what was working in the studio. It’s the first CD where I’m out of the mind-set of pleasing a certain audience.” So we get to see the writer, as well as the player, behind the mask. 

For a perfect example of what Maxwell means, start at the top, with “Monster Shoes” (so named for his three-year-old daughter Ava’s reaction to seeing a pair of sandals decorated with a pair of eyes in front). “It’s really a groove line in six-four time,” he offers, “but during the melody, it goes into and out of four-four, and at one point, it’s actually in five-four – the point is that if you don’t have the chart in front of you, it can be pretty frustrating. 

“If you try to count it, you might scratch your head.” He’s right; I tried, and I did. “But if you don’t count and just listen, it feels like something that grooves.” Right again.

Maxwell doesn’t write this way for academic purposes: he’s not trying to be tricky. Each of these tunes takes the shape that it does in order to best depict its extra-musical origin. Thus “Boots” (named for the pet monkey of Dora the Explorer, one of his daughter’s favorite cartoon programs) derives its structure from Maxwell’s experience with Ava’s third year on the planet. “It’s mostly in waltz time, but it has some odd parts in the middle, which is kind of how she’s been in her Terrible Twos – nice and lovely for big parts of the day, and then a middle section when she’s just a monster.”

Other tunes have comparable provenances, from “Starscream,” named for one of the main villains in the Transformer films favored by Maxwell’s stepson Jackson; “Beyond Infinity,” which references Buzz Lightyear’s catch-phrase from the Toy Story trilogy; and “Yo Gabba Blues,” inspired (if that’s the right word) by endless viewings of Yo Gabba Gabba, which Maxwell calls “this horrible, horrible kids’ show on Nickelodeon.” For those concerned about Maxwell’s preoccupation with kiddie TV, more adult references appear as well: “Big Hurt” alludes to the nickname of Frank Thomas, the retired slugger of Maxwell’s beloved Chicago White Sox, and “Charlie Work” gets its title from a phrase coined on the oddball cable comedy hit It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

            In his alter-ego as indulgent dad, Maxwell does spend a fair amount of time imbibing pop culture, but remember – like most musicians he works at night, a reality that informs the artwork on Urban Vigilante. “I love that drawing, but I do have one concern,” he allows. “I hope I don’t seem like I’m trying to say I’m some sort of superhero, or ‘super’ among musicians. I feel that a ‘vigilante’ is a guy who’s doing the right thing, working hard, keeping at it even if it doesn’t work out for him. And I figure that if I keep playing and keep writing what I want – well, everyone might not love it; but if continue at it, eventually it will work out in the end.”
 

            Actually, I’d call that a pretty good definition of jazz musicians in general. Shazam!

On this quartet outing, Chicago-based alto saxophonist Shawn Maxwell runs the gamut from the dark, noirish "Monster Shoes" to more upbeat fair like the forcefully swinging "Juggernaut," the buoyant, Latin-flavored "Starscream" and the brightly appealing title track.  Other highlights include the waltz-time lullaby "Boots" (named for his daughter’s favorite character on Dora the Explorer), the bluesy walker "Big Hurt" (named for former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas) and the lyrical ballad "The Sixth."  The common thread running this varied program is the sound of Maxwell’s potent, facile sax lines, which comfortably straddle old school and contemporary jazz camps.

- Jazz Times Magazine (November 2011 issue)

Shawn Maxwell – Alto saxophone
Matt Nelson – Piano
Bob Lovecchio – Bass
Brandon Dickert – Drums

Shawn Maxwell is back for his fourth disc, and his second for Chicago Sessions, the amusingly titled (and even more amusingly drawn), Urban Vigilante. The words “youthful spirit” come to mind in much of what goes on here, from the song titles tipping a hat to his kids, to the Marvel Comics-styled cover art. But a youthful façade without anything to back it up is pointless. There’s a freshness to what happens on these tunes as well. Everyone genuinely sounds like they’re having fun.
 

Of course, it’s easier to have fun in a recording studio if you know what you’re getting into beforehand. And, if there’s a case to be made for keeping a steady band (mostly) together, Maxwell makes it. For three of his four albums, Maxwell’s kept the same rhythm section together (even if he goes through bassists the way that Spinal Tap goes through drummers), and by this point in time, it’s really starting to make a difference in not only the sound of the band, but also his willingness to write tunes that you wouldn’t throw in front of a pick-up band. What’s more, they execute those tunes in a personal way. The end result there is that if you haven’t heard Maxwell before, this really might be the best place to start; if you have, you’re about to hear what is clearly his best work yet.
 

For starters, there’s Maxwell’s sound––it’s unique for an alto, where everyone tries to sound like Bird or Cannonball. And if you don’t sound like Bird or Cannonball, someone will tell you that you sound like Jackie McLean. Maxwell sounds like none of the above, and actually gets a fairly heavy sound out of the alto––it sometimes hints at Kenny Garrett, but at this point even the Garrett influence (that Maxwell himself would call his most obvious) is becoming obscured. These days, Shawn Maxwell sounds like Shawn Maxwell, and that’s a great thing.

Things get off to a nice start on Urban Vigilante with “Monster Shoes.” Melodically, it’s a fairly simple tune, but the melody is not what makes this tune great. What makes things happen on “Monster Shoes” is Maxwell’s solo and the interplay between drummer Brandon Dickert and pianist Matt Nelson, especially during Nelson’s solo. The amount of dust that gets kicked up in the solo section here is impressive, and is a harbinger of things to come throughout the rest of the disc.
 

“Starscream” is a nice little up-tempo samba that gives Nelson a chance to show off some of his pianistic flair. Strangely, as nice as his solo is (and it is great) some of his tastiest work here happens as he’s comping underneath Maxwell. Such great comping helps to propel Shawn’s solo, and Dickert gets his licks in on some trading near the end of the tune. “The Big Hurt,” a tribute to Frank Thomas formerly of the White Sox (Shawn’s a big fan of South Side baseball), is a groovin’, mid-tempo swinger that really lets this quartet shine. Maxwell’s solo is just comfortable, and Bob Lovecchio’s solo is proof of why so many people around Chicago have such great things to say about his playing.
 

For me, though, the centerpiece of this disc is “Charlie Work.” For years of following Shawn at gigs and on disc, I’d been hoping that when playing something that approximated a funky groove that he’d just get down and dirty and throw down a la Grant Green or Lou Donaldson in the late sixties or early seventies. He doesn’t quite do that here, but it’s by far the closest he’s come yet, and he and his band eat it up. The result is one of the two or three best things he’s yet committed to disc (check the version of “Dangerous Curves” on Maxwell’s House for another one).
 

One thing I must say for Shawn Maxwell is that he’s consistent. He has consistently grown over the course of six years and four albums. His songwriting has gotten stronger, his playing has gotten stronger, and his band has gotten stronger, all of which makes Urban Vigilante a great disc to listen to (given that upward trajectory, I can’t wait to hear the next Maxwell offering). People liking their jazz acoustic, straight-ahead and in the pocket will have lots to love here.
 

By: Paul Abella
 

The New Shawn Maxwell CD, Urban Vigilante, is now available on iTunes. Check it out by clicking here.

The new Shawn Maxwell CD, Urban Vigilante, is now available on line. You can purchase individual tracks, the entire CD or physical CD’s at CD Baby by clicking here.

3 out of 5 stars….. Shawn Maxwell Quartet, Maxwell’s House (2009)
Led by Maxwell on alto sax, this quartet can serve up old-school bop just fine ("Shuffled," where pianist Matt Nelson in particular shows a subtle touch and emotional range). Which is great if you’re looking for a band to see live, but for a new album - especially from relative youngsters - wouldn’t you like something a bit new and different? Well, this quartet can do that too, smoothly incorporating heavy funk backbeats (thanks to bassist Kevin Martinez and drummer Brandon Dickert) into several tunes without pandering or seeming tongue-in-cheek ("Jathor"; "Dangerous Curve"). I don’t hear as much in the ballads ("Five," which despite the titular 5/4 rhythm doesn’t take off; "Ava"), and on the whole the group seems more intent on mood than melody, but they’re certainly good enough at what they’re good at to warrant a listen. (DBW)

Shawn Maxwell   -   Maxwell’s House   4/4
O’s Notes: You won’t need coffee to stay awake with Shawn Maxwell on sax! He is one of Chicago’s young lions teamed up with Matt Nelson (p), Kevin Martinez (b) and Brandon Dickert (d) to form a swinging quartet. Hank Crawford and Kenny Garrett influence his tone and his signature speaks for itself. Maxwell sounds good on both ballads like "Five" and cool swingers like "Dangerous Curve". All of the music on this CD was written by Shawn except "If Only" a burner by Nelson and Matt Nischan. If you don’t know this cat Shawn Maxwell, it is time to become acquainted. There’s a lot of good jazz coming out of his pipe!

www.osplace.com

New videos of The Shawn Maxwell Quartet, from their performance in the Chicago Jazz Magazine Booth at Jazz Fest, are now available.  You can see them on the multimedia page or at Shawn’s YouTube Channel.