Another Stunning & remarkably compiled, and Selected Compila
fetish_2000 | U.K. | 07/26/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Brought to you, from the London, Soho based record label 'Soul Jazz', this 2-CD album collates a variety of artists involved in the evolving experimentation of: Free-Jazz, Avant-Garde, Modal Music, Progressive Big Band, Experimental-Jazz. With the only real connection between the artists is the fact that their music is a sub-section / sub-genre of Jazz. Thankfully the selection here is sublime, and thoughfully chosen, with the vast majority of the material here, moving through, complex, Freewheeling, Spiritual, Passionate, Earthy, Exuberant, Cerebral and organic forms of Jazz. Although not aimed at those fair new or unacquainted with experimental-Jazz, but more for those that want a fantastic primer for the many facets of Jazz or indeed, are keen on the idea on such a widely encompassing compilation on left-field Jazz, this is a fantastic place to start.
Disc 1: "Maulawi's - Street Rap", opens with huge electric pianos and bass shudders, that take the form of a more muscular & improvisational take on Gil-Scott Heron's form of 'Beat Poetry', and adding deep swinging funk, over lyrics, chants and environmental sounds, it's like a more dance-based version of Gil's poetic-fusion. "Sun Ra" deliver a relatively short but beautifully judged "Angels and Demons at Play", which encapsulates many of the band attributes: ambitious, adventurous free jazz, mixed with twisting African and Afro-Latin rhythms, that slowly work a fine line between rhythm & space.
"The Art Ensemble of Chicago", contribute a slow-burning jazz-funk groove of "Funky AEOC", a track that mixes oddball sounds (Cowbells, Bicycle horns, and strange percussive noises), with a sublime weirded-out funk groove. Imagine an instrumental 'James Brown' track with the tempo slowed right down and an organically enigmatic combination of trumpet & Sax, and that will give you a good idea, of what to expect from this sublime effort. "Paris Smith's - Pentatonia" is a bizarre xylophone created track, with the same relaxed and Earthy approach to playing, as someone like 'Roy Ayers'. Shimmering xylophone is coupled with background organ sounds. Think warped instrumental interlude music, and your halfway there, in imagining this highly likable / strange marriage of sound. "Travis Briggs" takes things into even more decidedly left-field territory with this "Tibetan Serenity", which places wonderfully expressive harps, which start the track, after which an almost rare-groove styled instrumental beat (with Handclaps) takes hold, and a beautifully judged flamenco guitar drops in. This track feels more like beautifully orchestrated downtempo electronica/Trip-hop than Jazz, but more impressively using real instruments instead of sampling. "Rashied Ali's - Duo Exchange" performs the sort of rolling improvisational drum/percussion that has complemented some of the finest 'Blue Note' jazz albums, which is tempered with Afro-centric horns, bells, percussion & strange vocal sounds (which occasionally punctuate the performance). This track is certainly unique in that each listen brings a greater appreciation, for it's avant-garde dynamic...the best description I can give, is a more weirded-out 'Pharoah Sanders' with all general 'throw caution to the wind approach', this track has the potential to grow into a particular favourite.
Disc 2: Move things into even more left-field territory with the spiritual tones of "Alice Coltrane's - A Love Supreme", which (for me personally) is quite possibly the most stunning track on this album. A touchingly heartfelt rendition of 'John Coltrane's' seminal work, with Alice contributing Harp, organ, its retains a great deal of the highly charged spiritual emotion of the original, yet remarkably, with Alice's additional flourishes, remains an amazingly beautiful piece of music about the dedication to a new path of understanding, and arguably one of the finest things she's ever recorded. Moving on, we have "Lloyd McNeill", who layers his gorgeously earthy and organically freewheeling "Home Rule" track with considerable skill. Flutes beautifully kick things off, and the flute playing is nothing if not deftly accomplished....expressive & hypnotic in tone, clattering rolling drum breaks, zoom in...which at first feels largely at odds with the intimate warm 'Stevie Wonder-esque' keyboards wrapping around the track. Yet this all works perfectly..in spite of itself, and remains impeccably performed throughout.
Imagine...incredibly proficient jazz musicians, deciding to ditch conventional Jazz, and tackle music with a decidedly 'Arabic/Egyptian' theme?? Congratulations, you just imagined The "East New York Ensembles - Little Sunflower" track. Words don't begin to describe how surprised I was upon, first hearing this track. What at first starts as a typically low-key Jazz track quickly morphs into a mutated, hybrid of: Jazz/Arabian/Egyptian fusion. Those (Like me) that are big fans of World Music, will love this oddball percussive/horn-laden gem, that has been thrown into the compilation. Others not so keen on world /fusion influences may find the 13 minutes this track runs at, a little bit like hard work....
Sinister strings and Violin, make their presence know on the beginning of "Robert Rockwell III's - Androids", sounding distinctly like a 60's themed horror-flick, before improvisational free-Jazz trumpets & Saxophone wail into view, and the tumbling drums then lead seamlessly into earnest 70's funk. Make no mistake...this sounds incredible, the first time you hear it (it almost makes you think that a completely new track has started), but then, the strings & Violin fall away, to leave a funk Guitar riff & yelping Saxophone, in a truly inspired mix-mash of musical styles. "Eddie Gale's - Black Rhythm Happening" begins with a take on soul & free jazz, instrumentation and elements of the church-gospel, and leads into a call & response crowd chant, with smooth & funky loose-groove Jazz/Free-funk, before the crowd soars and develops into sung choruses/chants of "Black Rhythm Happening" being sung/chanted in unison. This is the sort of excellently obscure funk/Jazz curiosities, that 'David Holmes' normally sticks on his fantastic compilation albums. Joyous, celebratory & Exuberant a definitely superb feel good track.
Those with either a passing interest in Jazz, or those that generally find that the more (how shall we say) 'Eclectic' forms of Jazz (free-Jazz, Avant-Garde, Progressive-Jazz) a tough compilation to digest, and will probably be better suited avoiding this and heading towards something of more conventional stripe. (I'd recommend the sublime: "The Best Blue Note Album in the World Ever"), as this is anything but an easy listen. shifting from stylish Jazz-Funk one minute, to obscure progressive big-band fusion the next, this isn't for anyone other than the musically adventurous, and seeing as this compilation rarely stick with one form of Jazz, your going to need a pretty eclectic ear to appreciate it all. But those that have no problems with such a wide variety of styles and don't mind the occasionally deviation and non-reliance on Jazz (a few tracks although excellent, barely fit within the Jazz genre). This is arguably one of the finest left-field Jazz compilations I've had the pleasure of reviewing."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1