THE FLOACIST - RISE OF THE PHOENIX MERMAID
The
title's really evocative here, and so is the music – maybe the strongest solo
moment we've heard from Floacist so far! The tunes have a sensual quality that
grabs us right away – not cloying, commercial romantic modes – but a laidback,
personal, positive vibe that's produced with just the right sort of subtle
touches by Chris Davis – who keeps things in just the right mellow space for
the easygoing vocals! Keyboards round out the sound with just the right sort of
tripped-out lines – working perfectly, whether the lyrics are spoken or sung –
and titles include "Womyn", "Mami Loves You", "Try
Something New", "Doing This", "Good Love",
"Wisest Thing", "Feel Good", and "Grandma". ~ Dusty Groove
OTIS TRIO - 74 CLUB
A very
cool combo from contemporary Brazil – a trio who work with guitar, bass, and
drums at the core – but open up plenty of space for extra work on vibes, tenor,
soprano, trumpet, and trombone! The vibes are especially great – and feature on
almost all the tracks here – ringing out with these sharp tones that really
match the energy of the trio, especially the raspy tone of the guitar, which
seems echoed in its own metallic tones. The music has a hard edge – not bossa
jazz or Brazilian fusion at all – but instead this really creative style that
really puts the rhythm at the forefront, but in ways that are very complex and
seem to direct all the other instrumentation as well. At times, the drummer's
got a way of echoing the feel of a larger batucada with his snapping snare –
and titles include "No Oceano", 'Dnn", "Quarta Feira
Santa", "Funky Groove", and "Sophisticated
Junkie". ~ Dusty Groove
PIERRE DORGE & THE NEW JUNGLE ORCHESTRA - TJAK TJAKA TCHICAI
Pierre
Dorge pays tribute to the late reedman John Tchicai – a frequent musical
partner over the years, and a player who's shaped the sound of countless others
on both sides of the Atlantic! Tchicai got his start with Archie Shepp on the
New York scene of the 60s, but moved over to Denmark by the end of that decade
– and ended up having a good deal of interaction with guitarist Pierre Dorge in
years to come, including performances on some of the best sessions by the New
Jungle Orchestra! This album really recalls those great ones – as Dorge chooses
tunes that seem to have an especially spiritual flavor, and evoke Tchicai in
ways that most of the group's recent work might not have – using especially
strong passages from reed players who include Jakob Mygind on tenor and
soprano, Anders Banke on tenor and bass clarinet, and Morten Carlson on tenor
and taragot. Titles include "Mozombo", "A Rufous Mot Mot",
"Jungle Sketches", "Autobahn Tchicai Zwei", "Lucianus
In Congo", and "Tjak Tjaka Tchicai". ~ Dusty Groove
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