Monday, June 20, 2016

NEW MUSIC: MARTHA HIGH – SINGING FOR THE GOOD TIMES; FULL BLAST (PETER BROTZMANN) - RISC; QUANTIC PRESENTS FLOWERING INFERNO – 1000 WATTS

MARTHA HIGH – SINGING FOR THE GOOD TIMES

A great return chapter for Martha High – a singer who began her career working with James Brown, cut some disco for Salsoul Records in the 70s, and who's re-emerged in recent years as a stunning vocalist in a deep funk mode! This album's got High working with an excellent Italian combo – one who wrote all new tunes for the record, and came up with music that's maybe some of the most perfect that Martha's ever worked with – beautiful songs that unlock some soulful sides of her style that she maybe didn't even hit back in the day! The record's not one of those "old divas back for a minute" sets – and instead completely reinvigorate's High's career, and maybe even starts her anew down a path she should have taken so many years before. Hats off to producer and songwrtiter Luca Sapio for getting things so right – on titles that include "Always Worth The Pain", "Fire Shut Up In My Bones", "The Hardest Working Woman In Town", "You Baby", "I'm A Woman", and "The Hard Way". ~ Dusty Groove

FULL BLAST (PETER BROTZMANN) - RISC

Pretty blistering sounds from Peter Brotzmann's Risc trio – a group that really recalls some of the mindblowing intensity he brought to the free jazz scene in his youth! The lineup features electric bass from Marino Pliakas, which really creates a lot of power at the bottom – a rumbling quality that shakes the rafters in ways that an acoustic bass couldn't achieve – matched by frenzied drum work from Michael Wertmuller, who mostly plays in skittish space all over the kit – then matched by some very freewheeling work from Brotzmann on a range of reeds. The electric bass really gives the set a different feel than other improv trio dates – but also in a way that's never "electric" in conventional modes – and titles include "Try Kraka", "Cafe Ingrid", "TTD", "Garnison Lane", "Doss House", and "Schwarspanier Street". ~ Dusty Groove

QUANTIC PRESENTS FLOWERING INFERNO – 1000 WATTS

A dubbier set than even before from Quantic and his Flowering Inferno project – a record that's still quite heavy on the range of Caribbean elements he blended with funk on the previous two albums, but one that also seems to draw a bit more strongly from the sound of Kingston overall! The bottom end of the record is nicely pushed forward to the top – with speaker-rattling basslines and rhythms, peppered with moody trumpet and tenor lines, and sewn together with these beautifully bubbling Hammond lines from Roger Rivas – which are maybe the strongest element in the set, and which definitely give the whole thing its most classic quality. Quantic plays guitar throughout – and most cuts are instrumental, but the album does feature some guest vocals from U-Roy, Alice Russell, Christopher Ellis, and Nidia Gongora. Titles include "Spring Tank Fire", "El Disorden", "1000 Watts", "A Life Worth Living", "Homeward Bound", "Ikey's Vibe", "Shuffle Them Shoes", "Striding On Grand Street", "Macondo", "Night Shade", and "All I Do Is Think About You". ~ Dusty Groove


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