Arif Mardin:A Too Often Undiscovered Talent
Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 04/08/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you'll excuse the fractured metaphore Arif's 'Journey' has aged like fine wine,not fine cheese. Yes-this is the same Arif Mardin who gave Chaka Khan the otherworldy production on her classic albums Chaka,Naughty and What Cha' Gonna Do for Me several years later. But in 1975 Arif was up in the same game as Quincy Jones,Norman Connors and Narada Michael Walden as the finest talent assemblers in the jazz/R&B-funk/pop areas. And the guest list on 'Journey' is astounding:Eric Gale,Richard Tee and Billy Cobham alone would be enough but that's not the end by far;each musician is proudly credited on the back. The overall feel of this recording is warm,sprightly and original-much like Arif himself and he infuses that spirit into some truly amazing slices of harcore funk on "Strollin' and "Parade and the truely monsterous thump of "Dark Alleys". Laying in between are some fine,mellow dollops of jazz in "Love On A Rainy Afternoon" and "A Sunday Afternoon Feeling"-giving Gary Burton and Joe Farrell a chance to shine. On the title cut Arif gets the whole gang together with two jams that explore new electrified frontiers of orchestrated "Ellingtonia"-the spirit of The Duke himself tends to shine right through. The album closes in the best possible way with the explorative,original and very memorable "Forms"-this song takes the sound that Miles Davis was pioneering at the time and took them to a world not far outside of Sun Ra-the supernatural sounding electronics sound right out of the cosmos!On the enthusiastic,imagination funky fusion of "Flight" Hubert Laws's flute is as beautiful and artful as a rainbow shinning through dew drops on this and,if you close your eyes and listen to it you might find your imagination wandering on a little "journey" of your own. On this album Arif Mardin achieved something very very few other artists have been able to:the perfect blend of R&B/funk and orchestral jazz. This is sadly one of only two albums Arif released under his own name,and this sadly being the last one. Again as with many great albums I thank Wounded Bird for exposing a new generation to this classic. This is truly inspirational not only for musicians and music lovers in general but also a true gourmet feast for the ears!"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1