Kasan Belgrave: Dual Citizen

Detroit born and raised multi-reedist Kasan Belgrave offers his first album bearing a name with a tremendous legacy. His father, the late Marcus Belgrave, was a prime mentor to generations of musicians from Detroit, one of the world's great jazz cities. His impact as a jazz trumpeter, as a major contributor to classic Motown Records hits and—especially—as a mentor and creator of musical opportunity for young aspiring Detroit jazz musicians, is unique. While we may then classify the elder Belgrave as an educator, it should be known that the style of mentorship he provided was more in a 'tough love' category not duplicated in modern jazz programs housed in institutions of higher learning. Call it 'old school,' but when young Kasan, just a few years after his father's passing, was in the process of choosing which university he would attend, it ultimately came down to programs in Michigan that were headed by professionals who were mentored by his dad, and were dedicated to his particular methodologies of mentorship. In essence, Belgrave is a young man with an old soul, carrying his family name with grace, ease and an astounding eagerness based in wisdom beyond his age.

Dual Citizen (Tribe, 2025) is a running start for Belgrave, in no small part due to his abilities as a bandleader. He surrounds himself with stellar young talent with whom he is well acquainted, young Detroiters who, like himself, are beneficiaries of the school of mentorship inspired by his father. There is a strong connection with the Rodney Whitaker-led program in East Lansing at Michigan State University. The young saxophonist studied with Andrew Bishop, Benny Green and Robert Hurst there, as did a number of the musicians on the recording.

The album's ten tracks are all swinging, with the exception of the more R&B-tinged "Switch Lanes." This is a positive in that Belgrave's compositions are adaptations of a bebop language that carries a heavy dose of the blues. There is a groove aspect to the music as well, something one can expect from that sound that is identifiably from Detroit—a sound that preceded Motown pop and established the city as a jazz hotbed. The opener, "Step Back," is a case in point. Belgrave's work on alto, his most frequently used tool in the toolbox, is laid back, full of wispy figures articulated with a sense of ease and freedom. The backbone of the band here is drummer Louis Jones III, who ignites the groove with astute polyrhythmic balance. Bassist Michael Abbo is in the trenches with Jones on this track, adding to his low-tone résumé on trombone on three other album tracks.

Personnel-wise, "Ryo" is an assemblage Belgrave performs with on stages around his hometown. Bassist Jonathan Muir-Cotton and Jones are a duo reminiscent of Detroit rhythm sections with names like Elvin Jones and Ron Carter. Pianist Brendan Davis shows himself a brilliant soloist, and an accompanist with an uncanny maturity. The piece goes in and out with Belgrave on flute in ensemble mode. The core, however, swings hard with the leader doubling on alto saxophone. Again, Belgrave seems to stay out of the fray, hovering above the driving tempo and cutting the groove with agile grace and a keen rhythmic acuity. He is joined on the front line by trumpeter Allen Dennard, another of the new generation of great players out of the Motor City. He darts in and out of the hard line laid down by Jones and Muir-Cotton, interjecting with long, rich, blues-infused passages. This is the moment when the listener realizes that this session was all about the band, with a leader wise enough to use the entirety of the assemblage as his single voice.

"Hold Up" introduces us to pianist Jordan Anderson, who creates an unfolding swing groove within the framework of Jones' furious polyrhythms. Abbo contributes on the low end, this time on trombone, interjecting thoughtfully with intent. While Abbo serves as a multi-instrumentalist on the record, and for that matter, on the scene, his playing on slide trombone is notable, bearing some resemblance to the early playing of the great Julian Priester. Once again, Belgrave strikes the right tone, both as a probing saxophonist and as a bandleader who understands how to create a sound with his band that is organic, unforced and swinging.

Dual Citizen is on the revived Tribe label, a collective founded in part by his father. From performing at clubs that once featured the great Marcus Belgrave in residency to the amphitheater stage at the Detroit Jazz Festival, where now both father and son have performed, Kasan Belgrave will always bear the legacy of his father. It will speak to him throughout his life in music. Even now, his sound and personal approach carries something identifiable that is all Detroit—and jazz is better for it.

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