When Christopher Coles decides that it’s go time, he goes deep.
As a teacher, the Cleveland-born, Akron resident has teaching positions at both Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Akron. As a player, he seems to be on every bandstand, both as a leader and an essential sideman. And when Coles puts his pen to composition paper, he writes not just compelling tunes, but large-scale works, like his epic “Nine Lives” that was a triumph at last weekend’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. with ambitions subjects. He’s got a new one that just might be his best.
Coles’ “Love Demon Song Cycle” is a seven-part narrative in music that traces the life and emotional arc of Gaara of the Sand, a character in the sprawling Naruto manga and anime saga. It’s a hero’s journey of a boy cursed at birth by a demon spirit within and deceived about his true nature by those closest to him but whose struggles lead to self-knowledge and redemption.
This is classic stuff, but Gaara is not the main character of the Naruto tale. Yet his story deeply resonated with Coles, a fan of the series.
“I actually harken Gaara’s experience to the overall Black experience,” he explained, “[where] you’re told all your life that you’re a criminal, you’re sad and lazy [and] all these things,” he said. “I heard it from my mom growing up. I heard it from other people growing up. Then you realize all that’s a lie.”
In Japanese culture, the name a parent chooses for a child is thought to impart a destiny on its bearer. After his mother died in childbirth, Gaara was told that his name means Self-Loving Carnage, a destiny he fulfilled with a life of destruction. Only after a climactic encounter with Naruto does Gaara learn the lie about his name, the real meaning of which is the One Who Loves.
Coles’ musical telling of the saga opens with “Mother’s Gift: Through the Portal/Last Wish,” which is the first single to be released from a forthcoming album of the entire work. On the video released earlier this month, Brandywine Falls is a visual metaphor for birth. Spoken word artist Orlando Watson calls back to Hurricane Katrina with images of a river bursting through a levee. MCs Floco Torres and Skuff Micksun surround a tender Coles solo with verses articulating Gaara’s realization that his mother’s love protected him on his journey.
“I believe a mother’s love—parents’ love—to be divine,” Coles said by phone from Pennsylvania’s storied Deer Head Inn where he was touring with Jamey Haddad. True to the sentiment, the music is emotional and prayerful, a worship service in sound. That’s no accident. “When you hear trumpet and the saxophone,” Coles explained, “that music is a hymn called ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ but I recomposed it.”
Coles chose Gleam as the name of the ensemble for this project, and the recording band shines with northeast Ohio’s first-call players: Theron Brown on piano, Tommy Lehman on trumpet, bassist Jordan McBride, drummer Zaire Darden and Patrick Graney on percussion.
With Gabe Jones on drums, the hookup between the percussionists was especially strong when Gleam played Hingetown Jazz Festival earlier this month. Coles gave his 45-minute set over to a rangy performance of the entire work that opened vast spaces for soloists. Not surprisingly, they grabbed the opportunity with typical zeal.
“Bittersweet Optimism,” an altered blues with a twisty, postbop head, was ignited by a bravura Lehman solo. Banking the flame on the fifth part, “Es Flora de Espora,” Lehman showed off his golden-hour tone on flugelhorn. It’s become axiomatic to call Lehman a rising star, but his performance here and elsewhere (this guy is busy!) cements his status as a fully formed and powerfully communicative artist.
Coles led the band on the warm night dressed in a Naruto t-shirt. He offered a compelling synopsis of the work’s inspiration and narrative arc in his stage remarks. They were helpful, even necessary, but it was left to Coles’ soprano, alto and tenor saxophones to make the blazing passions of the titular character, sometimes called the Love Demon, come alive.
“Rele@se” portrays the moment when Gaara learns that the true meaning of his name is “One Who Loves.” While it’s the climax of Gaara’s journey, the emotional high point of Coles’ suite, and the performance, came in the final movement. The musical benediction “Forward, Always” gathers the salient qualities of Coles’ music: Gospel rhythms and harmonies, R&B soulfulness and a healthy shading of the blues. All were forged by the heat of the composer’s commitment into a strong and shining alloy.
Whatever your relation to Japanese manga might be, it’s hard not to get pulled into the surging emotion and sweeping action of Coles’ music. Like the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Coles’ work transcends genre conventions by distilling an epic into a human drama.
The “Love Demon Song Cycle is yet another powerful and moving work from northeast Ohio’s most visionary jazz composer. And yes, it gleamed.
NOTE: This article was written by a real human being. No artificial intelligence or generative language models were used in its creation.
Red beans and ricely yours,
jc
