Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson

Even for an album of Willie Nelson songs done by a jazz trumpeter, the Sun Ra-style opening is a surprise. Nelson's songs walk the line between simple and complex, holding elements of traditional music while occasionally introducing modern sentiment. Given his affinity for collaboration across genres, one might assume that he'd approve of a jazz remake like this. Admittedly, Nelson's songs are taken primarily as a starting point here — at times, the whole song is given a modern jazz interpretation, but more often than not it's just the chorus, just a riff, just a concept inherent in the song that's taken as the motivation for a series of improvisations and new ideas. The title track is probably the best example of a simple jazz rework, with one of the lightest makeovers: some soft synthesizers bubbling behind Thomas Marriott's horn. "On the Road Again," however, stands as a fair example of what can happen with a greater scope of improvisation. The song opens with a gong and what may be Mongolian khöömii singing, eventually becoming a dramatic, reverb-heavy, space-age half-tempo sonic exploration. For hardcore fans of Willie, this album may seem almost blasphemous (ignoring the fact that Nelson himself has made forays into rock, jazz, and reggae over the years). For fans of jazz, though, this becomes an excellent listen with at least a few surprises.