(August 23, 2019) Anytime I hear Miles Davis anywhere, I’m going to stop for a second and listen. So, when drummer Tyrone Hendrix, who is from Portland (where else), referenced “Blue In Green” from Davis’ seminal album Kind of Blue, he kind of had me. I immediately wondered if Hendrix timed the release of this tune to coincide with the 60th Anniversary of the release of Kind of Blue, which occurred 60 years ago this month (Aug. 17, 1959).
The melody to “Blue In Green” served as the foundation for what is a pretty sweet fusion of neo-soul, hip-hop and jazz that is the song “My Brother's Keeper.” The tune features rapper Vursatyl The Great, an emcee whose flow is conversational and has the feel of a guy sitting on a stoop and kicking knowledge to the younger generation. That makes sense when you consider the lyrics which long for the re-emergence of the village and is a call for us to reach out to our brothers and sisters, whether they be immigrants, the youth, people struggling with addiction and patients suffering from cancer.
Hendrix calls on none other than the Rose City’s soul man for all season, Jarrod Lawson, to sing the hook. Davis was an artist who constantly leaned forward in a constant search for what was next, and there’s a good chance that he would have appreciated this creative use of the music from his past. Check it out here.
By Howard Dukes
Tyrone Hendrix feat. Vursatyl The Great and Jarrod Lawson
"My Brother's Keeper"
