Sharel Cassity, Gratitude Review

By Jeff Becker

Gratitude is an album by saxophonist Sharel Cassity released on March 28, 2025, under Sunnyside Records. Cassity, known for her collaborations with legends like Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis, assembles a formidable ensemble featuring bassist Christian McBride, drummer Lewis Nash, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, trumpeter Terell Stafford, and trombonist Michael Dease. This lineup promises a rich exploration of jazz traditions infused with contemporary insights.

Sharel Cassity has established herself as a distinguished saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. Her collaborations span a diverse array of artists, including Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Hudson, and Natalie Merchant. Cassity has also shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Roy Hargrove. Her latest album, Gratitude, reflects a thematic focus on joy, hope, and celebration.

This group of seasoned musicians brings a dynamic synergy to the album, their collective energy coursing through each arrangement with the immediacy of a live club date. The interplay among them is responsive and unforced, allowing spontaneous moments to emerge organically. The production enhances this feeling of presence, capturing subtle dynamic shifts, conversational phrasing, and the unspoken cues that define the intimacy of a true ensemble performance.

“Magnetism” sets an energetic tone, with Cassity’s alto saxophone leading a powerful launch from the rhythm section. The composition reflects the concept of attracting and repelling energies, navigating strong currents. The push-pull dynamic is especially palpable in Cassity’s alto solo, her lines elegantly ride atop the swing pulse laid down by Nash and McBride, yet she crafts emotional tension by subtly pulling back against that groove. Her bebop-meets-modern-jazz vocabulary lends a vibrant expressiveness, showcasing a phrasing style that plays with time as much as with harmony.

“Smile,” a rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s classic, opens with a tender duet between Cassity and McBride, bass and saxophone tracing the melody in intimate unison before the gentle whisper of brushed drums joins. Cassity’s interpretation is clear and thoughtfully embellished, channeling a cool jazz sensibility in tone and phrasing. Her solo evolves from this poised aesthetic into a more modern, harmonically expansive voice, bridging eras with grace. Chestnut’s piano solo swings hard, folding in shades of cool jazz, blues, and gospel with elegant fluency.

“Stick Up!” is an adaptation of Richard D. Johnson’s composition swings from the outset, driven by a bebop-inspired rhythmic motif built on rhythm changes, performed in tight unison between Cassity’s saxophone and McBride’s bass. The motif establishes the track’s character, buoyant, angular, and classic in its roots. Cassity channels her inner Sonny Stitt in the solo section, riding that groove with a deft blend of bebop fluency and modern phrasing. The ensemble’s cohesion, especially in the rhythmic engine room, gives the track its relentless forward momentum.

“Gratitude” unfolds with a relaxed post-bop waltz feel, its structure spacious enough to let emotion rise naturally. Cassity’s solo is joyful and ascending, a lyrical climb that radiates warmth. Chestnut’s piano follows in kind, continuing the arc with elegance and affirmation. McBride delivers an energetic and technically masterful bass solo, injecting vitality into the piece. The true sense of gratitude emerges not only from the melodic and harmonic content but in the way the musicians encourage and respond to each other.

“Suspect,” a Richard D. Johnson composition, pulses with a contemporary groove, anchored by McBride and Nash, locking into a robust, body-moving backbeat. The melody gains extra heft and color from Stafford’s trumpet and Dease’s trombone, with a shift to swing on the bridge, adding surprise and variety to the texture. The mood is joyous and physical, giving you the urge to dance, particularly as the trumpet and piano solos overflow with gospel fervor. Cassity’s solo stays rhythmically in the pocket, playing off the groove with stylish lines. Chestnut follows with an expressive piano solo filled with blues-drenched textures and modern voicings.

“Kenny’s Quest” is a fiery tribute to Kenny Garrett; this composition channels his unmistakable spirit through multiple dimensions—tone, phrasing, and structure. Cassity’s alto tone carries Garrett’s signature blend of incisive edge and spiritual resonance, cutting through with intensity while retaining a warm, human core. Her phrasing reflects Garrett’s hallmark use of rhythmic displacement, motivic repetition, and explosive flurries that spiral upward before resolving with grace. Structurally, the tune builds like one of Garrett’s modal works. Anchored in a propulsive rhythmic vamp and unfolding with a sense of questing momentum. Chestnut’s piano solo keeps pace with a rollicking blend of modern harmony and gospel flourishes, while Nash drives the energy with polyrhythmic heat. The performance crescendos into a full-band climax, echoing the kind of transcendent fervor Garrett is known to summon.

“The Promise,” composed for Cassity’s young son, is a modern piece cast in a contemporary jazz groove, with undercurrents of gospel woven into the harmonic language. Cassity’s choice to voice the melody on clarinet adds a fresh, unexpected color to the album’s palette. The chemistry between Cassity and Chestnut is especially palpable here; their dialogue is  intuitive and deeply expressive.

“In The Spirit” concludes the set with an up-tempo jazz blues that feels triumphant and grounded, leaving the listener in a celebratory mood. Cassity’s expressive solo embodies the arc of the album, drawing threads from bebop, post-bop, and contemporary gospel into a unified, spirited statement. The ensemble’s performance is fiery and cohesive, capturing the joy of seasoned musicians playing in full communion. The groove is infectious, the interplay electric and the feel is outstanding. As a final gesture, it encapsulates the album’s journey and reaffirms Cassity’s voice as both rooted in tradition and forward-looking.

Gratitude reflects Sharel Cassity’s artistic vision and the collaborative spirit of her ensemble. The album’s thematic depth and exceptional performances offer a brilliant trajectory to hear and explore.