BERNIE WORRELL - ELEVATION: THE UPPER AIR
Bernie
Worrell, keyboard legend, founding member and essential collaborator, composer, and arranger in George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic, has worked with an
extremely diverse array of artists - Talking Heads, Bootsy Collins, The Rolling
Stones, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Black Uhuru, Fela Kuti, Burning Spear,
Pharoah Sanders, Buddy Guy, Sly & The Family Stone, Mos Def, Albert King,
Sly & Robbie, etc. He is among the most influential and emulated electronic
keyboardists in modern music. His synthesizer work defined 80's and 90's West
Coast Hip Hop and is still recognized in the pop hits of today. Elevation is
his first solo acoustic creation. Intimate, personal, atmospheric and touching,
a humble statement which is both vulnerable and child-like. Songs and themes
appear as flashbacks and memories, some accessible, some subconscious; they are
based on motifs by John Coltrane, Joe Zawinul, Bob Marley, Carlos Santana,
Charles Mingus and others. Featured are delicate impressions of classic soul
music from his own history and three original ambient soundscapes - all
delivered with his signature hand. Produced
by legendary iconoclast, Bill Laswell, with original artwork by Japan's modern
master Shinro Ohtake.Tracks include: In a Silent Way; I'd Rather Be With You; Alabama; Goodbye Pork Pie Hat; Light On Water; Ooh Child; Samba Pa Ti; Realm of Site; I Wanna Go Outside In the Rain; Wings; and Redemption Song
NOEL GOURDIN - CITY HEART, SOUTHERN SOUL
They
definitely got the title right on this one –as Noel Gourdin sings in a
contemporary urban mode, but with lots of the deeper inflections we remember
from classic southern soul – a wonderful blend that really makes the record his
best so far! Production is nice and lean – stripped-down, and with a good focus
on the kind of slightly snapping rhythms that really help deliver the edge in Noel's
lyrics – an approach that's right on the money, and really lets Gourdin stretch
out and inflect the tunes with plenty of his own personal warmth. Production is
by Marcellus Dawson, and the team of Ty Macklin and Taylor Pace – and titles
include "No Worries", "Heaven Knows", "Foxxxy",
"Spotlight Lovin", "Come Over", "Patience",
"Photography", and "I Want You". ~ Dusty Groove
DAVID BERKMAN - LIVE AT SMALLS
A great live date in the excellent Smalls series – and a wonderful group outing not just for pianist David Berkman, but for trumpeter Tom Harrell as well! Tom gets a lot of room to really open up and solo beautifully on the record – in ways that are quite different than his own studio work in recent years, and which really take us back to the qualities in Harrell's music we first fell in love with years ago! Berkman's got an inventive touch on the piano – sometimes angular but tight, sometimes more spacious – and the group also features Ed Howard on bass and Jonathan Blake on drums. All tracks are nice and long, and the Berkman originals are especially great for both his piano and Harrell's trumpet – titles that include "Ghost Wife", "Small Wooden Housekeeper", and "For Kenny" – nestled alongside versions of "Body & Soul" and "Sweet & Lovely". ~ Dusty Groove
A great live date in the excellent Smalls series – and a wonderful group outing not just for pianist David Berkman, but for trumpeter Tom Harrell as well! Tom gets a lot of room to really open up and solo beautifully on the record – in ways that are quite different than his own studio work in recent years, and which really take us back to the qualities in Harrell's music we first fell in love with years ago! Berkman's got an inventive touch on the piano – sometimes angular but tight, sometimes more spacious – and the group also features Ed Howard on bass and Jonathan Blake on drums. All tracks are nice and long, and the Berkman originals are especially great for both his piano and Harrell's trumpet – titles that include "Ghost Wife", "Small Wooden Housekeeper", and "For Kenny" – nestled alongside versions of "Body & Soul" and "Sweet & Lovely". ~ Dusty Groove
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