ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE - BLACK IS BACK: 40TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT
The 40th
Anniversary of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – but celebrated by a wonderfully
fresh version of the group! The lineup here features the solid, soulful
percussion of Kahil El Zabar – who also wrote and arranged all the music too –
plus the great Ernest Dawkins on reeds and the bold Corey Wilkes on trumpet!
The mixture of trumpet and saxophone is sublime – stretching out over Kahil's
spacious percussion at a level that unlocks a spiritual sound that the AACM
never even expressed this strongly back in the 70s – a nicely open vibe that
stretches out, but still hangs inside at most moments too – a bit like some of
El Zabar's famous collaborations with David Murray, but with the addition of
trumpet in the mix. Titles include "The Awakening Of 2012",
"Creole Peppa Stew", "Walk The Talk", "Can You Find A
Place", "Black Is Back", and "Be Bop". ~ Dusty Groove
YUSEF LATEEF / ROSCOE MITCHELL / DOUGLAS EWART / ADAM RUDOLPH / VOICE PRINTS
Some of
the most spiritual work we've heard from Yusef Lateef in years – a set cut with
AACM legends Roscoe Mitchell and Douglas Ewart, and done with a sound that
takes us back to the legendary sounds of both players in the 70s! Adam Rudolph
also joins the quartet, bringing in some great percussion – and the album's a
really collaborative affair, with all the musicians shifting through a wide
range of instrumentation in their own spheres of expertise – at a level that
recalls the work of the Art Ensemble of Chicago at their best. Lateef plays
tenor, flutes, oboe, and even vocalizes a bit – as does Ewart, who along with
Roscoe Mitchell plays a range of reeds and percussion instruments. Titles
include "Voice Prints", "Sound Search", "Harpers
Ferry", and "Morning Moves".~ Dusty Groove
RED GARLAND TRIO - MOODSVILLE 6
Red
Garland's sound was already often mellow and laidback in the late 50s, but it
takes on a whole new sense of that style here in a rare session for Prestige's
Moodsville label! As with others on the imprint, the focus here is on the
gentler sounds of the late nite scene – more ballads and easygoing numbers, but
still played with a strong degree of jazz – and not the kind of cocktail modes
that other labels would use when putting "moods" on the front of a
record! Red's trio here is the familiar one from other Prestige albums – Paul
Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums – and the only change, really, is that
the tracks are all mellower ones, but still done with plenty of bluesy inflections
on the keys from Red! Titles include "I Love You Yes I Do", "And
The Angels Sing", "Blues For Ann", "I'll Never Stop Loving
You", and "Bass-ment Blues". ~ Dusty Groove
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