The three members of Tarbaby – pianist & friend of the proGram, Orrin Evans, bassist Eric Revis, & drummer Nasheet Waits – share a long history together, dating back to well before the formation of the trio. They share core beliefs about acknowledging the over-arching tradition of the music while being true to one’s own story; they’re an ensemble of serious intentions and riotous humor, fervid spirit and fierce intellect, passion and purpose. All of that melds and collides in their provocative and risk-welcoming sound. The New York Times has hailed the trio as, “a strong postbop collective with plenty of moves at its command: advanced rhythmic calculus, sly harmonic implication, [and] cohesive elasticity.” Lucid Culture described Tarbaby as, “Intense, enigmatic, often very funny… Darkly melodic, fearlessly spontaneous and bristling with combustible energy.” 2024 saw a bold new release from the eclectic power trio. For the first time in a career marked by collaborations, You Think This Is America marks the first time that Tarbaby has recorded an entire album strictly in piano trio format. Recorded live at New York’s Hunter College for photographer/engineer Jimmy Katz’s Giant Step Arts imprint, the confrontational date mixes originals with wide-ranging covers by Ornette Coleman, David Murray, Andrew Hill, Sunny Murray, & The Stylistics. Tarbaby didn’t set out to become a band. It arose from a conversation, one that in many ways had been going on for decades and continues to this day. That dialogue centers on the respect, or lack thereof, with which “jazz” (in these discussions, that word is often voiced tenuously if at all) is regarded by those who claim to uphold its traditions. The music’s origins are a key factor, especially as they are so intimately tied to uncomfortable facts that many, even those who reap its benefits, would prefer to ignore.
I had a chance to catch up with legendary bassist, Eric Revis ahead of the September 10th TARBABY event at Arts + Literature Laboratory. Mr. Branford Marsalis states, “Eric’s sound is the sound of doom; big, thick, percussive.” Scores of musicians across various disciplines agree. Revis has performed and recorded with Betty Carter, Peter Brötzmann, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jason Moran, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Steve Coleman, Ralph Peterson, Lionel Hampton, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Cyrille, & Tarbaby, the experimental trio he tri-leads with Orrin Evans & Nasheet Waits, as well as with Options, also with Waits, and the legendary Bennie Maupin. In addition to manning the bass chair in Branford Marsalis’ revered quartet since 1997 (scoring a Grammy in the process), Revis has also recorded eight brilliant and wildly diverse albums as a leader, teaming him with visionary artists like Jason Moran, Ken Vandermark, Kris Davis & Andrew Cyrille, and appeared on the soundtracks to the Netflix features Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom & Rustin. Mr. Revis and I talk about what one could likely plan for at a TARBABY live event, we dive deep into the name of the band and how the conversations around that sound in 2025 and we dissect some of the music on the latest record. We find out when the album featuring Ursula Rucker might be dropping and if in fact, Mr. Marsalis does noodle. This is a conversation about friends making music with a purpose of what has been missing, keying in on those feelings and continuing to write the history books with a new language based of the old ways. This is music that makes me stand taller and try harder and is sure to provide many expressions and how to find yourself best suited in the places you’re in.
