Photo by: Felix Glasmeyer
Nearly 30 years have passed since Wyclef Jean broke big in the pop world with his 9 million-selling debut solo album The Carnival, released on the heels of The Fugees’ 1996 smash The Score. The multi-hypenate musician, songwriter and producer celebrates these milestones with another groundbreaking project, a seven-album series he’s titled Quantum Leap. The second volume in the series, Q Theory, represents Jean’s first full jazz release, its title an affectionate homage to Quincy Jones, a beloved mentor and role model. On Q Theory, the Haitian-born Jean combines jazz with influences from the Caribbean, Brazil, Africa and the Americas, dubbing his heady mixture “rara jazz” and recruiting a team of jazz experts who are more than compatible with his vision. An easy-going but insistent groove underlines “French Quarter,” a love song on which Jean trades verses with vocalist Niia while also contributing guitar and bass. Veteran drummer Harvey Mason locks it all down with his lithe and sexy sticking, the rhythms layered by pianist Robert Glasper, who contributes a typically supple solo toward the song’s conclusion. Trumpeter Theo Croker lends mellow brass punctuation to the proceedings, upping the jazz ante alongside wordless vocal passages and Jean’s jazzy guitar lines; the piece concludes with the whisper of Mason’s brushes, driving home its jazz message. Jean’s clever wordplay rewards a close listen, with lyrics describing his romantic obsession: “You’re so addictive with no prescription/You took my cold heart with no permission/My box of chocolate with a golden ticket/Let’s close the distance.”
