Tuesday, July 25, 2017

NEW MUSIC: STANTON MOORE – WITH YOU IN MIND: THE SONGS OF ALLEN TOUSSAINT; JOVINO SANTOS NETO & ANDRE MEHMARI – GURIS: A TRIBUTE TO HERMETO PASCOAL; BINKER & MOSES - JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAIN OF FOREVER

STANTON MOORE – WITH YOU IN MIND: THE SONGS OF ALLEN TOUSSAINT

One of the most soul-based albums in years from drummer Stanton Moore – a set based around the classic songs of Allen Toussaint, and which features help from a whole host of Nola guest stars too! Tunes are tight, funky, and are a mix of vocal and instrumental numbers – with help from Cyril Neville on three of the album's tracks, and Jolynda Kiki Chapman on one more. Instrumental guests include Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Trombone Shorty on trombone, and both Maceo Parker and Donald Harrison Jr on alto sax – who each get a few tracks each. Tracks include sweet remakes of "Here Come The Girls", "All These Things", "Night People", "The Beat", "Everything I Do Gone Be Funky", "With You In Mind", "Java", "Life", and a very cool take on "Southern Nights", which features a very cool spoken reading of the lyrics by Wendell Pierce of The Wire and Treme! (Includes download!) ~ Dusty Groove

JOVINO SANTOS NETO & ANDRE MEHMARI – GURIS: A TRIBUTE TO HERMETO PASCOAL

A gorgeous tribute to the music of Hermeto Pascoal – performed here by the twin pianists Jovino Santos Neto and Andre Mehmari, with some additional guest help from Hermeto himself! The album's way more than just a set of piano work, though – as the music really lives up to the larger sonic legacy of Pascoal's vision – and explodes with fresh colors and light at each new twist and turn – sometimes when one or the other player might pick up another instrument, like melodica, flute, harmonium, or bandolim – but still even just when the sound comes from two acoustic pianos, soaring to the skies in unison. Pascoal plays on a few of the album's tracks – adding in work on melodica and teakettle – the last of which is a great example of how inventive the sonic range of the performance is throughout! Titles include "Certeza", "Guris", "Andorinhas", "Samba Do Belaqua", "Dois Santos – Jorge E Antonio", "Aquela Valsa", and "Bailando Com Cerveja".  ~ Dusty Groove

BINKER & MOSES - JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAIN OF FOREVER

That's quite a cover for a record by Binker & Moses – especially as the duo's always quite down-to-earth, and not nearly the kind of proggish act you might expect from the album's image! Yet they've also expanded a bit this time around – not into a full-jamming group, as they mostly stick in their duo mode of Binker Golding on tenor and Moses Boyd on drums – but they also allow for some great guest work from Evan Parker on tenor and soprano, and Byron Wallen on trumpet – two musicians who show the heady company the duo can keep after just a few short years of recording! The album also features a bit of harp, tabla, and additional drums – but as on their wonderful debut, the core energy still comes from the combination of tenor and drums – used in a way that's raw and stripped-down, but still extremely powerful and moving. There's even more spiritual energy here than the first time around – and titles include "Reverse Genesis", "The Departure", "Trees On Fire", "The Shaman's Chant", "Gifts From The Vibrations Of Light", "The Voice Of Besbunu", and "Echoes From The Other Side Of The Mountain".  ~ Dusty Groove


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