Magical
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 06/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Klezmer hoedown meets world guitar-jazz with a heartland soul. Really, there's nothing quite like it out there. And Scott Amendola is to be congratulated for coming up with something not only genuinely new, but also so engaging.
On paper, this doesn't seem as if it could possibly work--just too much weirdness to get things fully integrated. Let's take the aural signature. How to get two such iconoclastic guitarists as West Coast jazz splatter-king Nels Cline and Chicago avant-stalwart Jeff Parker to mesh? And how does Jenny Scheinmann, longtime Frisell violinist, fit into the picture? Won't these people be getting in each other's way? How will they mesh? Will there be sufficient timbral differentiation?
All these questions are more than answered, and in a quite dramatic fashion, on the nine numbers herein. What's most surprising to me is the sheer beauty that leaks from these grooves. I'd expected some pretty out and somewhat unapproachable sounds given the personnel and label--and there's plenty of that--but it all comes wrapped in a very beguiling, and sometimes downright sensuously gorgeous, package. Just check out "Shady," for an example of what I mean.
Should appeal to fans of Frisell's latest ventures, and anyone seeking heartlandish instrumental jazz of the highest order. One of the very best releases of 2005."
Exquisite
Troy Collins | Lancaster, PA United States | 06/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Believe," the third album by percussionist Scott Amendola's band, whose most recent high profile gig is with the Nels Cline trio, combines not only the talents of the aforementioned guitarist, but those of Jeff Parker, erstwhile jazz guitarist and axe slinger of Tortoise. With Nels in the left channel, Jeff on the right, navigating an eclectic but concise program of multi-genre, post-bop jazz, "Believe" is an open-minded jazz guitar lovers dream recording. Buttressed by Jenny Scheinman's gorgeous violin playing, John Schifflett's thick bass lines and Amendola's multi-genre percussive work outs, the quintet equitably covers abundant stylistic ground.
The title track opens the album with a loose, improvisational feel, displaying the group's collective dynamics. "Oladipo," a syncopated Afro-Beat groove follows with its infectiously funky bass ostinato and syncopated guitar expositions. Post-bop traditionalism is fitfully embraced on "Smarty Pants." Mentioned as a homage to Neil Young's Crazy Horse, "Buffalo Bird Woman" sounds like an instrumental work out of one of Neil's more epic tunes. Continuing the Americana thread, "Shady" finds the band in Frisellian territory with part-time Bill Frisell co-conspirator Sheinman taking the lead on a tasty slice of down home roots music that wouldn't sound out of place on one of Bill's own records. Noisier, anthemic fare rears up on the aptly titled "Resistance" while Latin rhythms dominate on "Cesar Chavez." Although on paper this sounds like an exercise in globe hoping dilettantism, Amendola's band inhabits each of these genres and in so doing manages to bridge the tenuous gaps that sometimes divide them.
Easily one of the finest albums of 2005, "Believe" is not only a jazz guitar lovers album, but a record capable of wining the hearts of anyone with an interest in quality improvised/composed music."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1