Here's steel-pan player Andy Narell performing with a stellar band from South Africa. He wrote 11 of the 12 songs on this two-CD set, and they all display his distinctive compositional style of globally mapped contemporary... more » jazz. For that, the band sounds easily as good, if not better, than any Narell has assembled, including the Caribbean Jazz Project, and his early 1980s band with guitarist Steve Erquiaga. The first CD features the Narell with a couple of notable solos from the sidemen, particularly on "Jenny's Room," but it is on the second disc, with its longer tunes, that the rest of the band is allowed more solo space. They don't disappoint. It's also on the latter disc--on "Chakalaka" and "Mpule" particularly--where the Johannesburg township groove that permeates the music of Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, and so many others from South Africa is in Narell's grasp. Guitarist Louis Mhlanga is a revelation on "Chakalaka" and "Little Secrets," and every time the spotlight is turned on pianist Andile Yenana, he stands out with thoughtful solos. --Mark Ruffin« less
Here's steel-pan player Andy Narell performing with a stellar band from South Africa. He wrote 11 of the 12 songs on this two-CD set, and they all display his distinctive compositional style of globally mapped contemporary jazz. For that, the band sounds easily as good, if not better, than any Narell has assembled, including the Caribbean Jazz Project, and his early 1980s band with guitarist Steve Erquiaga. The first CD features the Narell with a couple of notable solos from the sidemen, particularly on "Jenny's Room," but it is on the second disc, with its longer tunes, that the rest of the band is allowed more solo space. They don't disappoint. It's also on the latter disc--on "Chakalaka" and "Mpule" particularly--where the Johannesburg township groove that permeates the music of Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, and so many others from South Africa is in Narell's grasp. Guitarist Louis Mhlanga is a revelation on "Chakalaka" and "Little Secrets," and every time the spotlight is turned on pianist Andile Yenana, he stands out with thoughtful solos. --Mark Ruffin
CD Reviews
Solid Live Effort
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 07/23/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When I first heard Andy Narell on the radio in Chicago in 1979, I knew I had to add his music to my nascent jazz collection. This was right at the beginning of his career, before his Windham Hill/Hip Pocket association, before the Caribbean Jazz Project, before his Heads Up International association. He was on a tiny, now-defunct indie jazz label, the name of which slips my mind, and he was playing stuff I'd never heard before. Yes, I'd heard steel drum music before, and yes, I'd heard jazz before, but never steel drum jazz.To these ears, his music was unique, and it has remained so throughout four decades. Indeed, he pioneered a new type of fusion--jazz and up-beat Caribbean. Dizzy and others had fused jazz with Afro-Cuban music, and Egberto Gismonti was fusing jazz with Afro-Brazilian music, but no one was doing what Narell did. If the trail he blazed hasn't had a lot of followers (one thinks of Monty Alexander's two ivory and steel discs and the Oliver Lake Steel Quartet's Kinda Up--a very fine release, by the way), it's probably as much because of the difficulty of mastering this approach as well as Narell's unique command of his instrument as any deficiency in Narell's music per se.The jazz press has generally dismissed Narell, regarding him as Not A Serious Artist. And he's taken quite a beating from them on this latest release. No, it's not his best and it's hard to listen to both discs straight through without at least a little boredom setting in, but there's still a lot of very good music here. If you're at all interested in what I call jazz beat (real jazz filtered through the lens of some indiginous folk music), you really should check out Andy Narell. This is probably as good a place to start as any, seeing that his best discs, his Windham Hill releases Slow Motion (available as an import), Light in Your Eyes, Stickman, and Little Secrets are no longer available. Of the Heads Up releases, Beyond the Bridge is probably the best, but it's a little stripped down, lacking the impact of his usual kick-butt band.In any case, do yourself a favor and check out this remarkable world musician."
My First Andy Narell Title
Brendan Flood | Indianapolis, IN United States | 01/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard of Andy Narell while I was listening to the NPR radio program, 'The World'. The played serveral tracks from this cd and I fell in love with it instantly. Since I have purchased it, it has remained in my cd player almost contantly. It is good to listen to just about any time. I have not heard any of Andy's previous cd's so I have nothing else of his to compare it to, but I can say that I really enjoy this cd!"
I'm dancing
Damon | Los Angeles, CA | 06/08/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Listen, I know some people do not care for steel pans and for those of us who do, this is one great album. The band is fantastic and it will have you dancing and grooving. This is one of the best and groovy records I have heard from Narell in a long time even though I truly loved his last album Fire In The Engine Room as well."
Excellent live jazz double CD
Damon | 05/08/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having listened to Andy Narell for a number of years (I have 6 of his prior efforts in my library) I bought this one despite a concern about its' being a live performance. Let me tell you, 'LIVE' is the operative word here. Both of these discs are loaded with upbeat steel pan work. He has covered a number of his older works but they sound fresh. The supporting musicians are right there beat-wise. This is an outstanding project.If you are a fan of steel pans in a jazz setting as I am, then give this one a try - it's the price of a single CD and well worth the money. If you don't like steel pans, then oh well!"
Rhythm in the blood
oli | Constanze, Germany | 12/20/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Usually I don't like this steel-drum-stuff. But this time I made the right choice. This music goes straight from your ears into your legs. Whenever I listen to this cd I can't stand still. I can literally visualize how the crowd went mad while they were on that concert. It's really worth listening at and maybe you may like steel-drums after all too. Have a try."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1