Wednesday, October 19, 2016

NEW RELEASES: DAVE DOUGLAS / FRANK WOESTE / CLARENCE PENN / MATT BREWER – DADA PEOPLE; DIANE WITHERSPOON - LIVE; FUTURE PROSPECT – THE CLIMB

DAVE DOUGLAS / FRANK WOESTE / CLARENCE PENN / MATT BREWER – DADA PEOPLE

One of the most soulful albums in years from trumpeter Dave Douglas – quite a surprise, given that the whole thing is a dedication to the dada movement! There's a very deep sound to the record – thanks in part to tremendous drum work from Clarence Penn, and equally strong bass from Matt Brewer – who set up this chunky bottom of the record that almost feels like it's got roots in some sort of New Orleans heritage, but very abstracted, and taken into the right sort of modern territory for Dave's expressions. The piano work of Frank Woeste is also great – especially when he picks up a bit of Fender Rhodes – and it's maybe his conception of chunky blocks of sound that give the whole album its great spirit. Titles include "Mains Libres", "Oedipe", "Longings & Illusions", "Danger Dancer", and "Noire Et Blanche". ~ Dusty Groove

DIANE WITHERSPOON - LIVE

A very hip singer, and one of the most righteous jazz vocal albums we've heard in while! Diane Witherspoon has family ties to Jimmy Witherspoon, but her style here is completely different – in that mode of jazz singing that's way past torch, way past standards, and in much hipper territory that really relates the vocals to the instrumental complexity of the music – at a level we'd match with the best work of singers like Dee Dee Bridgewater or Carmen Lundy! And like both of them, the song choices here are very hip – vocal versions of tunes penned by Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, Teddy Edwards, Sweets Edison, and others – the kind of unusual material that really gives the album a lot of personality, right from the start. Diane sings with a core piano trio, but the sound is far more dynamic than you'd expect – which makes for a wonderful album all the way through! Titles include "LA After Dark", "Even Steven", "Child's Play", "Night Flight", "Don't Touch Me", "Sway", "Centerpiece", "Sweet Sounds In THe Night", and "The Maestro". ~ Dusty Groove

FUTURE PROSPECT – THE CLIMB

These guys really live up to the "future" in their name – and serve up a wonderfully soulful version of funky jazz – one that's brimming over with youthful energy, and a strong vision that should guide the group for years to come! The music is almost a reworked version of old school electric jazz funk – but as if the music had taken a trip into space, got its mind blown, then was trying to find a way to live life as normal back at home! Things are straight at first, but often open up into these cosmic corners ones things get going – never in a flashy sort of broken beat way, but just with a new energy that really moves past any sort of stock funk or fusion modes. The group hails from Richmond, and they've got a unique approach that's all their own – and one that's pretty wonderful, too – served up with lots of warm keyboards, bold trumpet lines, and soulful alto and soprano sax – mostly instrumental, but with vocals from Frankie James on one track. Titles include "Dahlia", "Hub", "Almost Gone", "MJ 2.0", "Vibin", "Closer", "First Attempt", and "The Journey" ~ Dusty Groove


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