FASTEN UP
Yellowjackets. Mack Avenue Records.
It’s been a while since Grammy-winning Yellowjackets has been an A-list fusion group, and that’s not so bad.
People change. Music evolves.
The good thing, as this 27th album in the quartet’s long career shows, is that change can happen without compromising style. There’s a sense of growth and maturity on Fasten Up, with just enough spunk to remind listeners that a wild ride isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
While the group leans more into ballads and classy grooves, I was glad to pick up on some influences of the late jazz virtuoso Jaco Pastorius in the first of three songs written by saxophonist Bob Mintzer, called “Swingmeister General.” Mintzer and Pastorius once worked with each other.
I also liked the peppy finale, an electronica-influenced song called “Xemeris,” written by bassist Dane Alderson, the group’s youngest member. It offered a good contrast to some of the album’s more melodic, soothing, and rhythmic — yet conventional — sounds.
Yellowjackets aren’t as flashy as they once were, but the group has some amazing staying power.
It dates back to 1977, when guitarist Robben Ford recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson to appear as backup musicians on his first solo album. The Los Angeles-based foursome stuck together under the name Yellowjackets, and released the group’s debut album on the Warner Brothers label in 1981.
The personnel’s changed, but Ferrante has had Mintzer as a bandmate for 35 consecutive years now and drummer Will Kennedy is 15 years into his second go-around, surpassing the 12 years on his first stint. Alderson, who wrote the title track, is celebrating his first decade with the group.
“What we’re about is a quest for self-discovery,” Ferrante said. “We’re constantly figuring out who we are, continuing our journey and evolution while challenging ourselves along the way. The more we play, the closer we get to realizing the ideal of four guys totally losing themselves and making one unified sound.”
Fasten Up isn’t mind-blowing or edgy. But it offers a mature, intriguing sound. It is aptly described by Mintzer as a loose mix of chamber music, rhythm & blues, gospel, and straight-ahead jazz, probably more of the latter.
First Published March 13, 2025, 1:30 p.m.
