Soul jazz: The title alone suggests a magical but somehow elusive genre. Is it heard in Herbie Hancock’s funky piano on songs like “Watermelon Man,” the ragged guitar and free-form vocals of James “Blood” Ulmer or the saxophone grooves on Cannonball Adderley’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”? Although it can’t be strictly defined in words, when you hear the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective’s blend of New Orleans horns, funky rhythms and gospel-tinged, shout-it-out vocals, your ears give you the answer. Formed in 2017, the current version of the band is led by founding member and sax player John Fournier. With a résumé that includes performing with artists ranging from Jerry “Iceman” Butler to Prince, Fournier’s background is more than fit for the task.
“The idea for the band began when, as the Trump presidency and era started, I became really down and started to find solace in listening to old soul jazz records. It goes back to when I was a little kid, and I started listening to Cannonball Adderley and The Crusaders,” says Fournier, who has also won a Joseph Jefferson Award for his work in musical theater. “Then I thought if listening cheered me up, maybe playing it would help even more. So I had a group playing at a place called the Wire in Berwyn. The idea was to play soul jazz and kind of cheer everybody up. And by the second show it was like full, people were coming. I am accustomed to a lot of musical ideas that fail, but this one didn’t fail.”
Fournier assembled a band that included Marques Carroll on trumpet, Amr Fahmy on keys, Larry Brown, Jr. on guitar, Keith Brooks II on drums and Andrew Vogt on bass. They continued playing together, and eventually put out a record that landed at number eleven on [JazzWeek’s 2019 year end] jazz charts. “That’s when I knew we were onto something.”
The album, “Soulophone,” is helmed by a swinging version of Ramsey Lewis’ “The ‘In’ Crowd,” which is another pillar of the soul jazz canon. The album also contains a version of the African American spiritual “Wade in the Water,” done in a swinging, Ramsey Lewis style. Their second album, “It Takes A Spark to Start A Fire,” released in 2020, takes a more mellow, jazzier approach, highlighted by guest artist Nicholas Payton’s trumpet on “Her Eyes Are Blue and Sometimes Gray.”
The band’s artistic and commercial vision received a major boost with the addition of vocalist Dee Alexander. A force in Chicago jazz who has performed with Lewis as well as the AACM, her scooping and shouting added soulful and jazz scat vocals to the band’s toolbox of instrumental jazz, blues, soul and funk.
“It was during the height of COVID, and I, like most musicians, was doing home recording. I was at home and it was like ‘What else am I going to do?’ I started writing songs and I was hearing Dee Alexander’s voice, and because it was COVID I said, ‘Why not?’ and Facebook messaged her,” Fournier says. “I asked, ‘Hey do you want to sing a song with us?’ and she said yes.” Her addition was a major change in the band’s style and substance.
This was especially evident on the band’s signature cut, “Mama Are We There Yet.” Combining funky bass, piano grooves, horns that break out in free form harmony and gospel-tinged vocals led by Alexander, the tune can be compared to much of the work of Don Was and The Pan-Detroit Ensemble. The song’s loose ensemble of horns and shout-it-out chorus of vocals not only creates a mood, but also has a somewhat theatrical vibe. This is no accident, as along with his decades of musical recording and performance, Fournier also has an extensive background in theater.
“I was influenced when I came to Chicago with the avant-garde stuff, I thought it was really great,” Fournier says. “I was influenced by some of the stuff that Tom Waits did with Robert ‘Bob’ Wilson (not to be confused with current director Robert ‘Rob’ Wilson), like Steppenwolf’s production of Tom Waits’ ‘Frank’s Wild Years.’ I started working on a surreal piece about Fatty Arbuckle called, ‘Fatty Arbuckle’s Spectacular Musical Review.’ Second City produced that, and I got more gigs with a group called 500 Clown, which was also an avant-garde, physical comedy troupe out of the Redmoon Theater. A little later we had a spinoff with Molly Brennan at the Red Tape Theatre, which was called the Madam Barker Show [The Life And Death of Madam Barker], which is what I got the Jeff Award for.”
This theatrical element adds to the band’s overall mission. While jazz can be musically extraordinary, certain elements also make it a bit technical and not as friendly to some non-jazz fans. In recent years, the band’s personnel has changed somewhat, with Ryan Nyther now on trumpet and Micah Collier on bass. But their sound has only added to the mix of soul, funk, and a bit of gospel. Together, the band casts a musical net that can serve to bring in a wider variety of listeners, making the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective both an entertaining and musical experience.
“When you are with us we are trying to lift up your spirits,” Fournier says. “Even when we started, we wanted both us and the audience to have fun, we were clapping and yelling and that has been something that has been with us as a band throughout the years and is still with us today.”
The Chicago Soul Jazz Collective performs at Jazz Showcase, 806 South Plymouth Court, on Wednesday, November 26, 8pm; and at Winter’s Jazz Club, 465 North McClurg Court, on Friday, November 28, 7:30pm. Tickets are $20-$40 at Jazz Showcase, available at jazzshowcase.com; tickets are $30-$40 at Winter’s Jazz Club, available at wintersjazzclub.com.
By David Witter
