For their third album since resigning with Warner Bros., the Yellowjackets were looking for a change of pace. "The idea was to put together a pretty dramatic diversion from what we had been doing up to this point," says Yellowjackets saxophonist Bob Mintzer. "It’s really hard when you’ve been a band as long as we have to keep things changing. So we really made an effort to try and reinvent what we were doing."

"We had talked about trying to make a recording that would have a broad appeal," says Yellowjackets keyboardist and co-founder Russell Ferrante. "Something that had a really nice melodic quality and was somewhat serene that would also include some vocalists that we’ve admired and worked with in the past. It was our attempt to try and keep it fresh...for the fans, for the record company and for ourselves."

YELLOWJACKETS 14TH RECORDING

The resulting album, Club Nocturne (their 14th as a band), is a more vocal-oriented affair that features stellar performances by special guests Kurt Elling, Brenda Russell and Jonathan Butler. While the presence of four vocal numbers among the instrumentals distinguishes Club Nocturne in the band’s oeuvre, many of the old Yellowjackets signatures are still very much intact. Ferrante displays his penchant for an earthy gospel keyboard feel on "The Village Church," a lively number that also features some gutsy tenor sax work from Mintzer. Renown electric bassist Haslip unleashes his nimble, melodic chops on the buoyant opener "Spirit Of The West" and the upbeat "Stick-to-it-ive-ness," both Ferrante tunes that also highlight Mintzer’s more lyrical touch on soprano sax. On tenor sax, Mintzer wails with conviction on "The Evening News," blows passionately behind Brenda Russell on "Love And Paris Rain" and beautifully complements Kurt Elling’s liquid phrasing on the haunting ballad "All Is Quiet." Drummer Will Kennedy provides precision backbeats throughout, easily switching gears from syncopated authority on "The Evening News" to a brisk swing feel on "Automat," the jazziest offering on the album.

CLUB NOCTURNE FEATURES GUEST VOCAL ARTISTS

The choices for guest vocalists on Club Nocturne came about through a myriad of connections. "Kurt Elling is someone who we all really liked," says Ferrante. "Bob first told us about him because he had been doing some gigs in Chicago with [Elling accompanist] Laurence Hobgood. Then I picked up Kurt’s first record, Close Your Eyes, and really liked it a lot. Bob had written two pieces that he thought Kurt could work with. One is a ballad called ‘All is Quiet,’ which Kurt wrote the lyrics for. The other is ‘Up From New Orleans,’ which Bob actually wrote music and lyrics for."

Mintzer elaborates. "I had been inspired by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and wanted to write a New Orleans flavored piece, something in a King Pleasure vein. And Kurt really fit the bill. He’s such a distinctive personality and interesting singer. And we felt an immediate connection in the studio."

The hookup with Jonathan Butler came about from some jams that happened last year on the West Coast. As Ferrante explains, "William, Jim and I have been playing around town together, and happened to be playing one night with (guitarist-vocalist) Leni Stern. It was my wife’s birthday and Jonathan came up and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, and it was a pretty killin’ version. He also sat in another time at a Marilyn Scott gig that I was playing. We had spoken with him before about maybe collaborating on something and when this vocal album idea came up we called him. There was a tune we were considering, written by Richard Page, called ‘Even The Pain,’ and we sent it to Jonathan. He really liked it a lot and connected with it.

As Haslip further explains, "The original demo was more folkish, almost like an Irish 6/8 feel. But having Jonathan Butler involved (he’s from South Africa) I thought of the 6/8 element as more of an African thing. So we kind of steered it in that direction especially for him."

"When Jonathan came in to record it," Ferrante adds, "he had fully digested the song. He didn’t labor over it in the studio. He just came in and sang it and blew us all away. He’s got quite an amazing instrument."

Brenda Russell has had a longstanding relationship with the Yellowjackets, including an appearances on 1992’s Live Wires. "She’s someone we've worked with in many different settings," says Ferrante. "Jimmy and I have worked with her on her recordings, co-written songs with her and we backed her during a Japanese tour five years ago. She’s a great spirit and a really talented songwriter. William and I had written this song together, and when Brenda wrote the lyric for it, it became 'Love and Paris Rain.'

"The hardest thing to do is to make something that you like that also has some kind of wider appeal," says Ferrante. "It’s really challenging and very elusive. It’s easy to cross the line and have it be schlocky or where you just slap the vocal on a tune that’s not suitable for vocals in an attempt to reach another audience. So we were grappling with all those kind of ideas. And I think we came up with a nice meeting place with this album."

YELLOWJACKET BEGINNINGS

It was 17 years ago that the The Yellowjackets self-titled debut on Warner Bros announced the arrival of a formidable new force in contemporary music. Released in the summer of 1981 to critical and popular acclaim, the album lodged on the Billboard charts for over five months, reaching No. 1 on various other national jazz charts as well. Ever since that maiden voyage the Yellowjackets have continued to chart high and attract enthusiastic crowds to concert halls around the world with their appealing blend of jazz, pop and soul with world beat influences added to the mix.

Originally assembled as the backup band for guitarist Robben Ford’s 1978 solo debut album, The Inside Story, the members of the Yellowjackets went on to forge a strong identity in their own right. Ford and keyboardist Ferrante had met as early as 1973 when they played together in Jimmy Witherspoon’s blues band. It was the beginning of a longtime musical association that continued over the years (Ferrante appeared on Ford’s 1992 debut for Stretch Records, Robben Ford & The Blue Line while Ford made a guest appearance on the ‘Jackets 1994 album Run For Your Life).

With a flexible and funky rhythm section anchored by bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson, the Yellowjackets were able to seamlessly straddle the r&b/jazz divide, navigating Ferrante’s challenging compositions while maintaining that all-important groove factor. This tight chemistry continued when William Kennedy replaced Lawson in the band in 1986 and has been the key to the Yellowjackets’ success through 14 albums, marking them as one of the most enduring and successful fusion bands of the past two decades.

After playing on Ford’s The Inside Story, the Yellowjackets released three records on Warner Bros., the aforementioned Yellowjackets (1981) the classic Mirage a Trois (1982) with Robben Ford as a featured artist, and 1984's Samurai Samba adding saxophonist Marc Russo to the lineup. The Yellowjackets won their first Grammy in 1986 with Shades. The band began expanding its musical concept with 1987’s jazzier offering Four Corners. They snared their second Grammy with 1988’s Politics. Further evolution came with 1989’s The Spin and 1990’s Greenhouse, both recorded by ECM’s Jan Erik Kongshaug. Greenhouse, which featured arrangements by Vince Mendoza, also marked the entry of saxophonist Bob Mintzer into the band. 1992’s Live Wires served as a kind of landmark in the band’s history, capturing for the first time on record the exhilarating energy of a Yellowjackets concert. Their followup, 1993’s Like A River, was perhaps their most daring leap into the jazz camp with a program of largely acoustic music. And they continued that jazzy momentum with 1994’s Run For Your Life. The band received its ninth Grammy nomination for 1995’s Dreamland, which featured a guest appearance by vocalist Bobby McFerrin and also marked the band’s return to Warner Bros. after a 10 year hiatus. They followed that success up with last year’s vibrant Blue Hats and have taken it to another level of crossover appeal with Club Nocturne.

"Musically we went through a lot of changes about the direction of the music," says Haslip. "There’s so many different elements that contributed to this project that made it what it was. It started in one place and then it just maneuvered into these other places and eventually became what it is. You might notice that every piece has some kind of string-like element in it, a kind of classical influence."

That orchestral aspect combined with the groove factor, the buoyant melodies and strong jazz soloing all complement the vocal appeal of Club Nocturne, a decided departure for the Yellowjackets and their most thoughtfully crafted and accessible project to date.

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