DAVE DOUGLAS / FRANK WOESTE / CLARENCE PENN / MATT BREWER –
DADA PEOPLE
One of the most soulful albums in years from trumpeter Dave
Douglas – quite a surprise, given that the whole thing is a dedication to the
dada movement! There's a very deep sound to the record – thanks in part to
tremendous drum work from Clarence Penn, and equally strong bass from Matt
Brewer – who set up this chunky bottom of the record that almost feels like
it's got roots in some sort of New Orleans heritage, but very abstracted, and
taken into the right sort of modern territory for Dave's expressions. The piano
work of Frank Woeste is also great – especially when he picks up a bit of Fender
Rhodes – and it's maybe his conception of chunky blocks of sound that give the
whole album its great spirit. Titles include "Mains Libres",
"Oedipe", "Longings & Illusions", "Danger
Dancer", and "Noire Et Blanche". ~ Dusty Groove
DIANE WITHERSPOON - LIVE
A very hip singer, and one of the most righteous jazz vocal
albums we've heard in while! Diane Witherspoon has family ties to Jimmy
Witherspoon, but her style here is completely different – in that mode of jazz
singing that's way past torch, way past standards, and in much hipper territory
that really relates the vocals to the instrumental complexity of the music – at
a level we'd match with the best work of singers like Dee Dee Bridgewater or
Carmen Lundy! And like both of them, the song choices here are very hip – vocal
versions of tunes penned by Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, Teddy Edwards, Sweets
Edison, and others – the kind of unusual material that really gives the album a
lot of personality, right from the start. Diane sings with a core piano trio,
but the sound is far more dynamic than you'd expect – which makes for a
wonderful album all the way through! Titles include "LA After Dark",
"Even Steven", "Child's Play", "Night Flight",
"Don't Touch Me", "Sway", "Centerpiece",
"Sweet Sounds In THe Night", and "The Maestro". ~ Dusty
Groove
FUTURE PROSPECT – THE CLIMB
These guys really live up to the "future" in their
name – and serve up a wonderfully soulful version of funky jazz – one that's
brimming over with youthful energy, and a strong vision that should guide the
group for years to come! The music is almost a reworked version of old school
electric jazz funk – but as if the music had taken a trip into space, got its
mind blown, then was trying to find a way to live life as normal back at home!
Things are straight at first, but often open up into these cosmic corners ones
things get going – never in a flashy sort of broken beat way, but just with a
new energy that really moves past any sort of stock funk or fusion modes. The
group hails from Richmond, and they've got a unique approach that's all their
own – and one that's pretty wonderful, too – served up with lots of warm
keyboards, bold trumpet lines, and soulful alto and soprano sax – mostly
instrumental, but with vocals from Frankie James on one track. Titles include
"Dahlia", "Hub", "Almost Gone", "MJ
2.0", "Vibin", "Closer", "First Attempt",
and "The Journey" ~ Dusty Groove
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