PHILIPPE BADEN POWELL - NOTES OVER POETRY
Philippe is
the son of Brazilian musical legend Baden Powell de Aquino, and is reinventing
Brazilian jazz in the lineage of his father’s generation. Balancing the
classical with the spiritual, the cinematic with the introspective, and
sensitivity with a distinctly Brazilian groove, Notes Over Poetry calls upon
the inspiration of the many musical and artistic greats Baden Powell has been
surrounded by throughout his life. “The great
Brazilian poet and old family friend, Vinicius de Moraes used to say that ‘life
is the art of encounter’, and that is what this album is about.” A nomadic
upbringing - moving between Rio, Paris and the coincidentally named German city
of Baden-Baden, as well as touring internationally alongside his father and
brother, provided boundless encounters with inspirational figures. Touring also
gave Philippe Baden Powell his first taste of life in the spotlight: recorded
when he was just thirteen, a sold out show alongside his father and brother at
Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio De Janeiro, would become the 1996 album Baden
Powell & Filhos. To his
father, Philippe attributes key characteristics which have enriched and guided
him in his professional life: “He transmitted to me the passion and commitment
indispensable to any artist.” With his father he also shares an innate pull
towards collaboration as key to the creative process. “I can’t remember a time
making music just by myself, I’ve always felt like a kid with toys waiting for
friends to come and play.” Credit is indeed due to the musicians on the album,
many of whom are legendary artists in their own right: French jazz drummer
André Ceccarelli, who has worked with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Michel
Legrande; prolific Belgian jazz vocalist David Linx; and Afro-Brazilian
percussion master Ruca Rebordão.
ERIC
ALEXANDER TRIO – JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
A totally
wonderful setting for the tenor genius of Eric Alexander – a freewheeling trio,
which is a format we're not sure we've ever heard him in before – really
stretching out in an amazing way, with the sense of of imagination that we've
always loved in his music, but with a depth that takes him farther than most of
his usual recordings too! We're not sure what happened, but there's a new sort
of edge in Eric's horn – one that might well come from the sublime work of
Dezron Douglas on bass and Neal Smith on drums – but which might just be
Alexander deciding to take off and really blow us away – which he does
throughout the set, with a sense of spirituality that we haven't heard from him
before. The whole thing's amazing – and titles include "Wise One",
"You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "You Say You Care",
"Beautiful Love", "Bessie's Blues", "Russian
Lullaby", and "We've Only Just Begun". ~ Dusty Groove
SKYMARK –
RESISTANCE SONORE
A fantastic album of keyboard funk instrumentals – a set that
starts somewhere in a late 70s soul fusion vibe, then makes a move through some
of the more broken, cosmic territory of the European scene in recent years! On
some of the straighter tracks, there's Fender Rhodes, at a level that recalls
the best work of musicians like Bobby Lyle or Ramsey Lewis during their 70s
jazz funk years – while other tracks get a bit more abstract, with complicated
rhythms that change things up nicely, while still keeping things in soulful
territory. There's a bit of muted vocals at spots – but really layered down in
the rhythm section, with a more instrumental vibe to the record overall. Titles
include "Warm Day", "Illusion", "Flying Fantasy",
"O Alivio Das Ferias", and "Disco Song For My Son". ~ Dusty Groove
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