Search - Babatunde Lea :: Soul Pools

Best of the nu generation Latin percussionists

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 12/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With Soul Pools, Babatunde Lea establishes himself as the reigning Latin jazz percussionist on the scene today. His rhythmic conception, steeped in traditional Latin stylings, transcends the genre with hip modern jazz attitudes and the burning arrangements of Ku-Umba Frank Lacy, who also plays a variety of brass, but mainly trombone.Lea has this unique approach to percussion where he almost equally devides his time between a traditional kit and congas. The results are consistently arresting. The two stars, besides the leader, are Lacy and pianist Hilton Ruiz, who, besides sounding completely energized, plays better than I've ever heard him--incisive soloing and hot ritmo comping. Lacy seems to have found his ideal context, ripping off rock-solid statements wrapped in a deeply burnished 'bone tone. Mario Rivera (sax) is the ringer here--not someone I would've ever considered in a context like this, but he totally acquits himself in this high octane environment, consistenly coming up with provocative solo statements and melding seemlessly into the intricate horn arrangements. The most remarkable number for me is the title tune, which sounds, uncannily, like a lost John Ritter Caribbean Christmas carol and a Yorba hymn all at once. I could do without the two vocal numbers, esp. Lacy's singing--and I use the term advisedly--on "Carolyn's Dance," but the music here is so transcendent that it's not worth docking even a half star.Plus, there's a bonus live cd--25 minutes of Wayne Shorter's great song, "Footprints," a wonderful vehicle to bring out the fullness of this band's Afro/Latin/jazz sensibilities. It would be great to hear an entire disc of this quartet, live or studio, I don't care. For one thing, Ernie Watts (tenor sax) plays with greater tonal weight and gravitas than Mario Rivera, and once he gets wound up, lets loose with a startling and deeply satisfying eight-minute-long solo. Hilton Ruiz on piano seems to be experiencing a personal renaissence. His solo, featuring lightening single-note runs, intricate left-hand chording, and hot, hot, hot rhythms, reaches a mind-blowing climax with thick, booming chords and some astounding right-hand voicings, with Lea all the time laying down tasty drum figures, proving his mettle on a conventional kit. His solo, a brilliant exercise in polyrhythms and deep groove, morphing at the end into a mesmeric combination of drums and congas, simply amazes. Drum solos seldom do it for me, but this one is extraordinary. Watts and Ruiz come in for final statements and then engage in an incredible four minutes of call and response magic, and the proceedings end on an ecstatic note."