THE DINING
ROOMS – DO HIPSTERS LOVE SUN (RA)?: A SOUNDTRACK OF COSMIC FUNK, ABSTRACT JAZZ
& CINEMATIC AVANT GARDE
Maybe the
hippest album we've ever heard from The Dining Rooms – something we probably
could have guessed from their evocation of Sun Ra in the title! And while that
title seems a bit obtuse – maybe even a joke – the music here is right on the
money, and some of the most serious, most spiritual the group has ever given us
– quite far from some of the easier dance-styled sounds we know from their
early years. There's still a lot of samples and electronics in the mix, but
they're used in extremely thoughtful ways – and often sourced with more
interesting material, too – so that there's a core of 70s cosmic jazz and
fusion that seems to drive the record, which also comes through in the group's
own keyboards as well. The approach isn't entirely jazz, but not far off at
times – and titles include "Interstellar", "Light Time
Tales", "Marte"," Love Story", "Saturno",
"Devil's Moon", "Once Were Warriors", and "Sergio
Leone Asteroid". Dusty Groove
JOE
FARNSWORTH – MY HEROES
Drummer Joe
Farnsworth pays tribute to the greats of the 50s and 60s – Elvin Jones, Roy
Haynes, Art Blakey, Max Roach, and others – in a smoking set that features his
longtime musical companions Eric Alexander on tenor, Harold Mabern on piano,
and Nat Reeves on bass! There's a vibe here that's different than other recent
dates from this well-matched team – as the players are definitely trying to
skew their sounds differently with each number dedicated to a different drummer
– especially Alexander and Mabern, who really match Farnsworth's energy as he
changes things up. Titles include "Syeeda's Song Flute", "Two
Bass Hit", "Reflection", "George's Dilemma", and
"Cute". ~ Dusty Groove
ROMAN
COPPOLA – MOLTO GROOVY CHRISTMAS
One of the
coolest, grooviest Christmas records we've heard in years – a set that's the
first-ever effort from Roman Coppola's Molto Groovy Productions – and which has
a mod 60s vibe all the way through! The styles here are steeped in the best Italian
soundtrack modes from years back – cool keyboards, fuzzy organ, funky
basslines, and lots of offbeat instrumentation that really transforms the tunes
– almost as if someone like Piero Umiliani or Ennio Morricone recorded a whole
album of Christmas instrumentals! The sound is perfect – even better than you
might suspect from the cover – and you can take it from us, as we're not easily
fooled by "fake" retro projects – and really tip our hat to these
guys for getting the instrumentation, arrangements, and production just right.
Most titles are familiar songs, but done in very unusual styles – and tracks
include "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Joy To The
World", "Jingle Bells", "Sleigh Ride", "Feliz
Navidad", "Little Drummer Boy", "Silver Bells", and
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". ~ Dusty Groove
No comments:
Post a Comment