Yellowjackets
Greenhouse

Where the Weather Report ended, others picked up the thread and continued the musically revolutionary discourse that stemmed from the long collective effort of an exceptionally gifted and historic band. We could say, with a necessary broad stroke and subtle distinctions, that the most significant heirs of the WR discourse were:

1) 'Tribal Tech' for the more technological, earthy, aggressive, cerebral, and rockish side
2) 'Steps Ahead' for the attempt to blend jazz with an unusual, smooth way of interpreting both standards and new pieces; a remarkably successful attempt over the years, thanks in part to the contribution of an exceptional assemblage of musical brains that rotated around the band, which began without commercial ambitions, originating from Japan's strong demand for 'fusion' products in the early eighties and without a precise project in mind.
3) 'Yellowjackets' http://www.yellowjackets.com/discography/YJ  (Save the link to listen to the MP3s!) who started with an “energetic little rock” in the vein of Tom Scott & L.A. Express or something like that, with a lot of rock blues in the first album featuring founding member Roben Ford. Then transitioning to FM music shortly after, they reached a full maturity leading them to develop true masterpieces like the one in question.

This is another one of those groups where, once you've heard an album, you have to gradually buy them all. The current lineup (2006) includes Russell Ferrante on keyboards, Jimmy Haslip, a left-handed bassist but with… reversed strings, Marcus Baylor on drums, and Bob Mintzer on winds. However, the main musicians who recorded Greenhouse are: Haslip, Ferrante, and William Kennedy on drums, with various guest appearances including Bob Mintzer, who in 1991 (how time flies!) began toying with the idea of stable membership.

The music offered by the 'boys' is very sophisticated, with extensive overlap with modern mainstream jazz, fully embracing the melodic language advanced by the savviest American singers close to jazz (Michael Franks, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, etc.) and indeed often presents one or two sung tracks in each album; yet it remains difficult to categorize for a meticulous music store’s shelves. The enjoyment is immense for all genuinely hunting for gems or big news, and it remains unchanged over time while listening to any of the group’s albums, evidencing the fact that if a piece of work is good, it remains so; period. Few dips in the group’s discography and always well above mere adequacy: Live Wire? Mint Jam? Incidentally, both live albums are perhaps the weakest from an ‘audio appeal’ standpoint! Maybe because the production, the ‘sound’ scene of the albums is so curated, balanced, and satisfying that the musicians’ even objective technical skills do not add value to the tracks in their live execution.

Why review this album first in the vast Yellowjackets discography? Simply because it stands 'in the middle' of their production and contains characteristic elements from the early period and substantial 'seeds' for future albums, more shifted towards jazz where Bob Mintzer, newly onboarded as a mere guest replacing Marc Russo, begins to earn his stripes, ultimately becoming the tonal center of the group's harmonic and melodic compositional experiments.
A little curiosity: the name YELLOWJACKETS (terrible, I can’t stand it) was chosen quite quickly, at the beginning, due to an engagement that suddenly arose and needed to be satisfied immediately; this choice referred to some yellow jackets the musicians—very young at the time—used to wear, making them look like... bees! Then, the years pass quickly, the albums and the music mature; but the name sticks with you!!!
Also noteworthy is the beautiful album by Marc Russo, as mentioned above, who left the band about fifteen years ago, just before Greenhouse, "The Window"; and the two beautiful ones by Jimmy Haslip: "Arc" and "Red Heat"; Russell Ferrante's bio Russell Ferrante, who produces, helps, writes for other people but is 'at home' only with the Yellowjackets; also briefly mentioning the vast activity of Bob Mintzer.

The album titles: http://www.yellowjackets.com/discography/YJ/9

1. Freedomland
2. Greenhouse
3. Seven Stars
4. Indian Summer
5. Spirits
6. Brown Zone
7. Liam/Rain Dance
8. Invisible People
9. Freda
10. Peace

I do not consider it appropriate to write details about each title because it would be necessary to talk extensively not about each track but... about each Yellowjackets album: a group in which maturity and democracy reign supreme, alongside a huge amount of ideas and serene development of the tracks, entrusted from time to time to one solo voice or another, where often the melodic line is led by a Jimmy Haslip who has been a reference point for an entire school of bassists for years and is characterized by playing very profitably a bass (often fretless) with the low B string near the floor and the higher ones towards the ceiling!!! In this regard, I consider it necessary (mandatory!) to at least mention the official titles:

Yellowjackets 1981 (the first. Very rock blues, thanks to Robben Ford; prefer the edition with extra tracks)
Mirage A Trois 1983
Samurai Samba 1985
Shades 1986 (definitely starts on the para-jazz side)
Four Corners 1987
Politics 1988
The Spin 1989
Greenhouse 1991
One Music 1992 (credited to Bob Mintzer, but actually a fully Yellowjackets album: wonders!)
Live Wires 1992 (live).
Like A River 1993
Run For Your Life 1994
Collection 1995 (a ‘best of’; avoid if you like them and sooner or later get them all)
Dreamland 1995
Blue Hats 1997
Priceless Jazz 1998 (another collection, same comment)
Club Nocturne 1998
Best of Yellowjackets 1999 (same as above)
Mint Jam 2001 (double live)
Time Squared 2003
Peace Round: A Christmas Celebration 2003
Altered State 2005
Twenty-Five 2006   the twenty-fifth-anniversary celebration of the 'legend'. If you’re too lazy to look it up in the homepage link of the discography mentioned at the beginning, check the link below to listen to the Mp3s: they will give you an idea.  http://www.yellowjackets.com/discography/YJ/24 
 
If you buy it, let me know because… this is the one I’m missing right now: I’m waiting for the price to drop ;-) !!!!!

A separate mention, definitely necessary for the 'side' album recorded in 2003 by the Yellow Jackets: "Peace Round" in which Christmas carols are performed in a soft and very personal jazz style, with in addition, at the end, ‘In a Silent Night’ as a fusion between ‘Stille Nacht’ and ‘In a Silent Way’, as a deserved tribute to maestro Zawinul, founder of Weather Report, the band to which the group owes so much. 

Last thing: on Amazon the album is for sale in the marketplace starting from... 3 dollars! Buy it, perhaps trusting the ears not yet totally wilted of yours truly and discover a new addiction: Yellowjackets forever!!!  ;-)