KHARI CABRAL & JIVA – HEAVEN & EARTH
Fantastic work from everyone involved – and a great reminder of why we first fell in love with the sound of the Atlanta scene years ago! At a time when so much underground soul only goes digital, or stays underground too deep, it's great to get a record like this from such wonderful artists – fully-formed, masterfully mature, and still very much at the forefront of the sorts of sounds they helped introduce many years back! There's a collaborative warmth here that comes through from the very first moment – not just in the way that Khari Cabral can set up a groove, then step aside to let everyone flow through it – but also in the beautiful vocal interplay from a range of different singers – including Brenda Nicole Moorer, Chanda Leigh, Paige Lackey Martin, and the great Julie Dexter. Righteous, positive, uplifting, and inspirational soul – on titles that include "Heaven & Earth", "Arc Of Horizon", "Mantra 3", "Listen To The People", "Gemineyes", "More To Do", "78 & Sunset", "Next To You Next To Me", and "Samara Smiles". ~ Dusty Groove
ORRIN EVANS - #knowingishalfthebattle
The first track here almost made us think we had the wrong
record in the sound system – as it's a creative electronic piece that
introduces the straighter jazz numbers – but that sonic surprise is just
another great reminder of the ever-growing range of expression we've come to
experience from pianist Orrin Evans! Evans has always been great, but in recent
years he really seems to have expanded his musical idiom – and here, he's
working with an unusual group that features two guitarists – Kurt Rosenwinkel
and Kevin Eubanks – who don't play on every track, or together at once, but who
create these chromatic elements that are beautiful alongside Orrin's more
angular piano lines! The core trio has Evans on both acoustic and Fender
Rhodes, with Luques Curtis on bass and Mark Whitfield on drums – and as the
tracks move on, they draw contributions from both guitarists, plus saxophonist
Caleb Curtis, and singer M'Balia – whose performances include a fantastic
version of the David Bowie tune "Kooks", and "That's All".
Other tracks include "Calls", "When Jen Came In",
"Chiara", "You Don't Need A License To Drive", "Half
The Battle", and "Doc's Holiday". ~ Dusty Groove
MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON & OTHERS - MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON’S
CONTRIBUTION WORKS
A wonderful collection of work that features from Miguel
Atwood-Ferguson – an artist you might know from his music on a variety of
projects from spiritual jazz maestro Carlos Nino – and one who continues that
collaborative spirit here with a surprising range of different artists! Miguel
has a great talent for bringing in subtle touches that can add a good degree of
sophistication to a tune – especially use of string instruments, used in ways
that often seem to echo the way that strings were used on the spiritual jazz
scene of the early 70s, particularly on Impulse Records – but in modes that are
much more contemporary overall. We've always loved Atwood-Ferguson's music, but
were also surprised to discover a few tracks here we didn't know already – and
titles include "Weather Any Storm" by Mocky, "Twelve O'Clock
Shadow" by Flako, "All Yours" by Artyom Maknukyan, "Sun
(edit)" by Nabowa, "Rose Heiress" by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson,
"Mowa" by Dexter Story, "African Sun" by Nick Rosen,
"Sounds Like Love (Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's in space
rmx)" by Illa J, and "Sketch For Miguel" by Mark De
Clive-Lowe.~ Dusty Groove
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