![]() ![]() When I first became aware of this release, I was only familiar with one of the two drummers, Jason Tiemann. This album was recorded in June 2021, but a first-time listener could be graciously forgiven for assuming it was from June 1961, yet with crisp, digital sound/production. Without any form of plagiarism or obvious imitation, And That Too brings the sound of Lee Morgan-era Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers into the modern, post-Jet Age world. RETRO COVERS Drawn in as I was by Ola Baldych's delightfully retro cover design, no one could have been more surprised than I was to discover a 21st Century hard bop masterpiece. ![]() Without breaking down every single track on the album, rest assured that “Stracci” represents much of what is current in today’s jazz world while also maintaining a personal vision and personal musicality. On this track, Luca adds his most swinging solo on the bass. “I’ll be Seeing You” is the other standard on this album of mostly originals and shows a very ‘Monkian’ approach to soloing with plenty of obtuse and persistent figures built around the whole tone scale. On “Tides of Tomorrow Pt.2”, Michael solos over a prog rock style chord progression recalling his favorite contemporary pianist, the aforementioned Mehldau. The next two tracks allow a lot of room for Ferber’s free approach to the drums as the other two act as anchors allowing him to play the drums as an almost lead instrument. This is the cut on which Raogonese displays a Paul Bley style relentless and muscular stream of right hand soloing. The album opens with a cover of Miles’ “Solar”, which is given a very modern and truncated melody before going into a more standard post bop groove. Roughly this album falls into the contemporary post bop genre, but you will also hear influences from romantic classical, art pop, fusion and free jazz as well. Mark is a very free range drummer, often displaying a non-conventional approach to the trap set in a Paul Motion style, while Luca’s bass has the flexibility to tie all of this together. You can also hear traces of Keith Jarret, Paul Bley and Theolonious Monk in his playing too. Michael sites several contemporary post bop pianists as influences, including Gerald Clayton, Josh Nelson, Vijay Iyer and Brad Mehldau. Joining Michael on this new effort are the very versatile Mark Ferber on drums and Luca Alemanno on bass. Whereas Michael Ragonese’s first album focused on horn arrangements, his latest album, “Stracci”, features a stripped down trio that better showcases his formidable skills as a pianist. This is righteous vibes music, drop the needle and let the party start. The effects from analog tape delay and the characteristic feedback such machines can produce is a big part of their colorful sound. ![]() There are occasional short solos, but mostly this band is about great melodies pushed by a polyrhythmic base and sprinkled with psychedelic pixie dust. The foundation of the group is trap set plus percussion and their jams are driven with funky wah-wah guitar and Farfisa organ, tying the pop music of Africa with the sounds of early Funkadelic and the Chambers Brothers. ![]() Their horn sound is very African, sounding similar to Cymande or King Tubby’s dub experiments. Budos is a large ensemble, featuring anywhere from eleven to thirteen band members. This is a power packed EP with seven compact tunes and no wasted space. In recent times, they have been sliding towards 60s psychedlic funk and RnB, which is the case with their latest EP, “Frontier’s Edge”. This leads us to the Budos Band who hit the scene in 2005 playing their approximation of Ethiopian jazz mixed with Afro-beat and other influences. Surprise, all of these genres became cooler than ever since the mid-90s and are continuing to hold a steady popularity among devoted cult followings. Genres such as blaxploitation soundtracks, exotica, psychedelic RnB and soul jazz were pushed aside in the 80s as being too much of their time period and way too kitsch for sophisticated tastes. Thanks to the acid jazz movement of the late 80s and the rare groove DJs, a lot of 60s music was given a new life. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |