New Orleans saxophonist Michael Jenner is a voracious listener.   Anyone who has set foot in his home knows the truth instantly. There are meticulously organized, wall-to-wall shelves filled with thousands of CDs and vinyl records impeccably ordered, but frequently reshuffled. Daily, Jenner searches, revisits, compares, and absorbs. Listening is a part of his practice. He is a deep student of the tradition, and a musician who carries this history along with new possibilities in his horn. Having an encyclopedic ear is a blessing and challenge. With so many choices, how do you craft your own sound and tell your own stories?  

With Sparkle On, Jenner answers those questions with confidence, curiosity, and warmth. He understands how to translate expansive knowledge into something personal. This is Jenner's third release, which follows the album debut of his band, Feed the Kitty, along with an intimate duo album with oud and guitar master Brian Prunka. In a sense, Sparkle On feels like an arrival. This album reveals the unique equilibrium he’s honed over the past two decades. Jenner balances boldness with a common touch to speak directly and unpretentiously to listeners. He is an adventurer, but never aloof.

A vital part of the album’s clarity comes from the presence of Jenner’s mentors and longtime friends: drummer Johnny Vidacovich, bassist Matt Booth, and pianist Michael Pellera. Individually, they are pillars of New Orleans’ creative music scene. Together, they form a quartet capable of subtlety, surprise, and everything in between. For Jenner, who has studied with them, performed with them, and grown under their guidance, the collaboration is both a homecoming and a launching pad. Listeners can hear the group's trust. The need to superficially impress one another (or the listener) is long gone. Communication is the focus. 

The title track, “Sparkle On,” embodies the album’s spirit. A bright calypso, sparked by Vidacovich’s bubbling drums and Booth’s dancing bassline is the kind of tune that feels like an antidote for a rainy day. Jenner’s melody is memorable, and he embraces a similar simplicity in his solo. Pellera’s piano commentary reflects the propulsion and brightness that characterizes this special blend of a band. The sound of this kind of joy is the product of carefully curated friendships on and off the bandstand.

“Murray Avenue” shifts the mood into waltz time, but not without detours. The subtle, unexpected harmonic turns open new doors. Jenner knows the lineage of the jazz waltz inside and out and he is able to bend this structure toward his own emotional contour.

Then there is “To a Morning Sunrise,” a composition that feels like a breath held and released. Listen as the quartet comments on the quiet majesty of daybreak and on the power of new beginnings.

In a world filled with static,  uncertainty, and fracture, Jenner's choice to sound hopeful is not naïve.  This band plays with an awareness and boldness that comes from empathy. Clearly, they are listening carefully to the world around them, and while they hold space for the blues and echo touch of "Confusement," they choose to respond overwhelmingly with sensitivity.

Wayne Shorter once advised musicians to “play about the world you are wishing for.” Jenner takes that advice to heart. After internalizing a wide world of music and the realities of the present, with this album, Michael Jenner chooses to Sparkle On.



-Greg Bryant
Bassist/Broadcaster on SiriusXM's Real Jazz