GIACOMO GATES

The Revolution Will Be Jazz: The Songs of Gil Scott-Heron

[Savant]

To be clear, The Revolution Will Be Jazz was not hurriedly assembled to capitalize on Gil Scott-Heron’s death on May 27—work on Giacomo Gates’ tribute to the jazz poet and spoken-word artist had already wrapped by that sad occasion. If the album does point some uninitiated listeners toward the visionary, often controversial work of Scott-Heron, then all the better. But one would hope that its primary achievement will be to make more people aware of Gates, a first-rate singer who came to his craft late in the game—now 61, he didn’t start singing professionally until age 40—and has matured into an engaging frontman. Here Gates utilizes his resonant, commanding instrument to place the focus squarely on Scott-Heron’s words. He and his sympathetic crew smooth out some of Scott-Heron’s rougher edges, not so much to tone him down as to recast him, proving that these sublime compositions will surely have a life apart from their creator. –J. Tamarkin