Don Was and The Pan-Detroit Ensemble Meld Vintage Detroit Sounds on ‘Groove in the Face of Adversity’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Don Was is arguably music’s greatest multi-tasker. Who else has handled all these roles – producer, songwriter, recording artist, music supervisor, documentarian, musical director, radio host, multi-instrumentalist, and President of Blue Note Records? You’ve seen him play bass with Wolf Bros, and his name has been associated with artists from the Rolling Stones to Willie Nelson to Robert Glasper. He is as genre-fluid as any recognizable name in the music business. Yet, he is still breaking new ground, releasing an album under his own full name for the first time, leading the Pan-Detroit Ensemble in Groove in the Face of Adversity.

Was’s Pan-Detroit Ensemble harnesses all that Detroit heritage into one sound in just six tracks. Was says that he’s had this sound in his head for the past 30-40 years, only to realize it now.  The band originated last year and has done a handful of live dates, which will expand this year, including an appearance at Big Ears. Was opens every show with “We’re the Pan-Detroit Ensemble and we are on a mission to promulgate the music of our hometown.”

The group features musicians who grew up playing together, listening to the same radio stations, and frequenting the same bars. Was has real history with all of them. He has known Blue Note artist and saxophonist Dave McMurray for 45 years. McMurray, along with keyboardist Luis Resto (Eminem), played in Was (Not Was). Resto and guitarist Wayne Gerard played on both of McMurray’s Blue Note releases. The other ensemble members are trombonist Vincent Chandler, trumpeter John Douglas, drummer Jeff Canaday, percussionist Mahindi Masai, and the biggest revelation, vocalist Stefffanie Christi’an, who Was praised as “one of the best singers I have ever heard in my life.” 

Interestingly, most of the repertoire is not drawn from Detroit artists. Some are gleaned from Was’s radio show, while others lend themselves to extensive jamming. The pulsating horn-slathered opener, “Midnight Marauders,” is most often associated with A Tribe Called Quest and the Australian funk unit, Fat Freddy’s Drop. Christi’an delivers an Aretha-like vibe in her potent vocal. However, Kenny Barron penned “Nubian Lady,” a live track, associated with another Detroit legend, Yusef Lateef.  Lateef’s artistry is reflected in McMurray’s stellar flute playing, as well as Was’s funky bass line and percussion from Canaday and Masai in this expansive, free-flowing jazz.  Jazz and funk are on display in Was’s own “You Asked I Came” from his produced soundtrack for the film Backbeat. McMurray blows his tenor as if it’s his last gig, and long-time Was collaborator, Terence Blanchard, guests on trumpet in another explosive live track.

The lengthiest track, another live one, is the band’s cover of Hank Williams’s “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But Time,” a funky, uplifting version that features Christi’an’s commanding vocals accompanied by powerful horns and the band members singing backgrounds. Fiery solos are from Douglas and Resto (electric piano). By contrast, Curtis Mayfield’s “This Is My Country” runs for a brief three minutes but is equally powerful due to the punchy horn chart and Christi’an’s exceptional vocals. The hand-clapped, funky closer “Insane” is a cover of the tune by Cameo, featuring aggressive solos from McMurray, Douglas, and Chandler.

The origin of the band began when the Detroit Symphony Jazz Creative Director, Terence Blanchard, approached Was about doing a show as part of the Paradise Jazz Series, so Was scrambled to form this band, which looks to be an ongoing concern. In terms of the album title, it relates to the fourteen-year-old Was’s introduction to jazz. Aggravated at the time, he experienced a positive breakthrough moment when hearing Joe Henderson’s solo in “Mode for Joe.”  That positivity and enthusiasm reverberate through almost every note here on the ensemble’s debut. It’s some of the most uplifting music heard recently from any band.