With the 2007 release of
The Source -- his debut recording as a leader -- drummer and composer
Kendrick Scott established a reputation right out of the gate as an explorer, someone with a generous measure of wisdom and insight to counterbalance his youth and newcomer status.
Nearly six years later, Scott and his band continue to dig beneath the surface to find the deeper truths in
Conviction, their new CD scheduled for release on Concord Jazz on March 26, 2013 (international release dates may vary). As the title suggests,
Conviction is the vehicle by which Kendrick and company look past the mundane and examine the motivating forces that propel us through life, even in those times when the greater truths are obscured by the tedium of the everyday.
"The
first record was almost like a potluck project," says Kendrick, who has developed associations with numerous high-profile jazz figures in the decade since his emergence from the Berklee scene in 2003. "There were so many of my friends and people whom I love to play with, and I wanted to have them all in one place on that record. But
Conviction is something different. I wanted to make this more of a band statement. This current lineup of the band just molded itself around this music, and then took it in all different kinds of direction at the same time. It all came together so easily and so well."
The streamlined version of Oracle on the new recording includes saxophonist and bass clarinetist
John Ellis, guitarist
Mike Moreno (the only member to also appear on
The Source) pianist
Taylor Eigsti and bassist
Joe Sanders. Guest vocalist and guitarist
Alan Hampton makes appearances on two tracks.