When one thinks of the improvised music powerhouse cities of the Midwest, Chicago and Detroit often first come to mind. Far too often left in the dust is Indianapolis. But less than an hour away in Bloomington lies Indiana University’s School of Jazz, with many of its alumni ending up in the Crossroads of America. Indy itself also boasts an impressive lineage of great musicians that include Wes Montgomery, J.J. Johnson, Freddie Hubbard, and Slide Hampton. Arguably, the guitar-organ tandem of Montgomery and Melvin Rhyne helped establish one of soul jazz’s defining textures. Central to the history of these artists lies Indiana Avenue, a thriving area for the Black community. Also known as “Naptown” after a song by Scrapper Blackwell and LeRoy Carr in 1929, the area is deeply steeped in jazz, the blues, soul, gospel, classical, and funk traditions. The nickname is also well reflected on Rob Dixon’s Naptown Soul (Strikezone, 2026), a work that continues the saxophonist’s torchbearer for the community’s distinctive intersection of jazz and soul influences.
Dixon’s love of the Indianapolis jazz scene emerges throughout Naptown but, more, it is evident in his own life choices. He boasts an esteemed career that includes four years with the legendary Illinois Jacquet and a stint with Tribe Called Quest. He has also previously worked with pianist Weldon Irvine, Mike Clark of the Headhunters, and guitar innovator Charlie Hunter. His bona fides and skills are of the type where he likely could have had a successful career in a bigger market like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. But, instead, he consciously chose to stay in Indianapolis and carry on the tradition laid before him.
But adherence to lineage holds no significance if the focus is merely retrospective. Dixon’s Naptown quartet reflects this thought well by combining long established artists with newer emerging ones. As to the former, he has Dave Stryker whose credits include work with Stanley Turrentine, and Jack McDuff. On the younger end, he has B3 upstart Sam Fribush – who recently played Newport Jazz with Corey Fonville. And between the two lies versatile drummer Richard “Sleepy” Floyd. The generational diversity of the group ensures both a dedication to the soul jazz lineage and the planting of a foot into more modern territory.
Dixon’s “Sly Vibe” has all the funk befitting of its title, with Fribush’s strong wailing meeting Stryker’s patented, sharp bluesy lines. The first of the album’s two Wes Montgomery tunes is a relatively famous one, “Bumpin” on Sunset.” It is an in-the-pocket number where Dixon’s tenor issues a singable melody before yielding to an inspired turn from Fribush. The other Montgomery tune, “Naptown Blues,” follows a similar aesthetic with Dixon’s tenor in the lead, but this time in beast mode, with stirring support from the ensemble. This one SWINGS HARD.
The 1974 Blackbyrds hit “Walking in Rhythm” represents a time when the music of Montgomery years and the artists on classic Blue Note albums was quickly falling out of popular favor. In listening to the melody of the version on Naptown Soul, one can easily sense the lyrics of the original: “Walking in rhythm / Moving in sound / Humming to the music / Tryna move on / I’m walking in rhythm / Singing my song / Thinking ’bout my baby…” And, of course, it evinces a highly danceable vibe. Dixon switches to lyricism on the soprano for Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You.” The unison harmonic passages between the horn and Fribush’s organ are especially captivating. Stryker delivers a clean, declarative statement as well.
Dixon completes the album with three originals. His brawny tenor rises to the fore on the syncopated “The Earth, The Sky” and “Fields and Valleys” also plays out robustly. Where the first half of Naptown Soul perhaps skewed more traditionally, this second half is more contemporarily focused and more energetic, with more of an emphasis placed on virtuosic playing on keys than melody itself. These cats are flying here. Dixon puts the exclamation point on the album with the closer, “Four One,” threatening to blow the roof off the studio with his surging horn.
At various moments while listening to Naptown Soul, you may find your player emitting steam, especially in the last three Dixon compositions. While Indianapolis may not loom as large as Chicago or Detroit in the popular conversations about Midwestern jazz meccas, it is clear from Dixon’s album that it very well should.
‘Naptown Soul’ is out now on Strikezone Records. It can be purchased on Bandcamp.
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