Out Of/Into: Motion I

Most supergroups happen and barely dent the dust. Despite those odds, one or two happen for a reason. That reason is  Motion I  by Out Of/Into.

Formerly known as The Blue Note Quintet—pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist  Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer—hijack the lead track "Ofafrii" with a brazen romp of everything tuneful and tasty. Wilkins and Ross virtually ground the driving ethic while power-gliding above the whole enterprise. It is a hellion ride, considering that Clayton, Scott, and Brewer have a few things they wish to add and add them and exponentially, they do.

Road tested by a marathon 2024 tour, the twice, cooly monikered quintet, originally formed in celebration of Blue Note's 85th Anniversary, cruises from "Ofafrii" to the high voltage, topsy turvy tumble of "Synchrony." Recall that first lightning strike upon first hearing Coltrane (Impulse!, 1962) as the classic quartet took shape around your head. Well, such is "Synchrony," and it is, beyond doubt and hyperbole, quite the rush. The same holds true for the Ross-on-the-high- wire "Radical." Amplified by Scott's muscular cool, the track ice skates onto "Aspiring to Normalcy." Led by Brewer's Ron Carter-like instincts for taut and punchy swing, this eleven-minute mood chaser is why Blue Note is what it always has been: a world of brilliance and shadow; corners and conflicts; a blues that heals.

Ross winds and rolls his way around Wilkins and Clayton who pair like Dexter Gordon andHorace Silver throughout "Aspiring to Normalcy" and the moment is sweet. The track's deep-seated barely contained rock roll spark is pure bonus. The gauzy yet hand-hewn "Second Day" floats on the whole energy ripping through  Motion I . Moody without the moodiness that lesser players would have wrought, "Gabaldon's Glide" is another nod to Blue Note's empirical past. Blue by blue by blue, each player takes it upon himself to add a dash of schmaltz and drama and all your troubles seem to go away as the five swagger and swerve. Motion I closes somewhat disappointingly, with the pretty, though nearly somnambulant, cigarette smoke etched "Bird's Luck," but everything before it is hands down, four-star stuff.

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