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CD Reviews Michael Ray and the Cosmic Krewe- "Funk if I Know" (Monkey Hill Records) By AJ Abrams ( fusionaj@aol.com )
Edited by Dean Budnick
For the last few years Michael Ray has been putting together jazz/jamband supergroups to tour the country and bring his musical mayhem to bars, clubs and jazz festivals everywhere. Finally, he has brought his all star cast into the studio and the brilliant results can be heard on "Funk if I Know." On the bottom of the front cover it says "Jazz funk of the future." And that is exactly what you get on the inside. But Ray also explores the past to get to the future. Which is what one of his mentors, Sun Ra did. There are five Sun Ra tunes on this album. Sun Ra performed classic jazz standards but also aimed his music straight for space. He was a futuristic sonic and cosmic explorer far ahead of his time. Michael Ray is combining George Clinton with Sun Ra to explore the future of jazz and funk. This album provides the map for us to travel and explore right alongside Ray and his Krewe.
The list of musicians on this record is staggering: Michael Ray (trumpet, synth, vocals), Eddie Dejean (Drums, vocals), Bob Gulotti (Drums, vocals), Kevin O'Day (Drums, vocal rap), Stacy Starkweather (bass), Jimbo Walsh (bass), Adam Klipple (piano, synth), Joshua Q. Paxton (keyboards), Tim Green (tenor sax), Clarence Johnson (alto, tenor sax), Don Glasgo (trombone), Dave Grippo (alto saxophone), Martin Krushe (tenor sax), Michel Skinkus (percussion, vocals), Steve Ferraris (percussion), and very special guests Trey Anastasio (guitar), Delfeayo Marsalis (trombone) and John Medeski (clavinet).
There has always been a celebratory, party atmosphere at all of the Cosmic Krewe concerts. And this album perfectly recreates the raucous, Mardi Gras feeling that one gets at the live shows. The performances on this album are actually better than some Krewe shows. That is because live versions of the Cosmic Krewe are always changing. The band is a revolving door of musicians, a cosmic collective of players. So, sometimes the music is often a bit rough and too loose. But the energy is always there and the first song, "Cosmic City," opens up this album party with a bang. This song is pure George Clinton style funk featuring Anastasio and Medeski. Oteil Burbridge is credited with helping write the tune, but he does not play anywhere on this album. "Cosmic City" is powered by some incredible synthesizer sounds that seem to bubble out of the speakers. Ray sings throughout the tune, welcoming us into his "Cosmic City."
The title track, "Funk If I Know" is next and surprisingly it is written not by Ray but by pianist Adam Klipple. Also, surprisingly it is not the funkiest song on the album. It sounds more like straight up, smooth jazz than funk. "Cosmic City" is pure funk, and perhaps that song should really be the title track of the album. Don Glasgo, who has also played in Phish's Giant Country Horns, contributes a valve trombone solo. He also wrote the next song, "Yolinda." This song is a pleasant jazz tune with a very melodic and catchy musical theme. It features a terrific solo by saxophonist Tim Green.
In "Earthrite" Ray sings about saving our environment as a blistering synthesizer powers the funky tune. Ray tells us that we are on spaceship earth and we better take care of it because our destination is unknown. He sings in an evil tone, "You haven't met the captain of the spaceship yet." I'm sure the captain he referred to is God and I wouldn't want to be the person that God accuses of ruining the planet. On a lighter note, "Latin Monkey," the next song is fairly humorous, although it is not intended to be funny. As the title suggests, this song has a Hispanic flavor to it. Anastasio provides the guitar on this song, and some women sing the lyrics in Spanish. The funny part occurs as they sing in Spanish, but then in the middle of a line they sing Cosmic Krewe English, then finish the sentence in Spanish.
The next tune is "Neon Cosmos" and it features some of the same speaker melting synthesizer sounds that propel "Cosmic City" and "Earthrite." It's a jazz/funk song which ray co-wrote with Neon artist Jerrry Therio. In New Orleans sometimes the Cosmic Krewe and Therio host a neon party. This song was written to provide the soundtrack to Therio's neon sculptures. The melting synthesizer sounds vividly paint the picture of colorful neon. The sonic scene is destroyed by the next song, "Worry Bout Dat." It is a rap song that seems completely out of place on this album. But the album returns to its roots with "Cosmos #2," a Sun Ra song. Throughout the rest of the album, the songs maintain a big band jazz feel to them. The second half of the record is mostly straight up jazz. The first half of the disk is more experimental and more funk. Another Sun Ra tune follows the big band sounds of "Cosmos #2". "Angels and Demons at Play" has a nice heavenly sound to it. I can definitely hear the angels at play, but where are the demons? Sun Ra also wrote "Watusi" which features the best horn work on the album. The tune has a funky big band sound as punchy horns drive the rhythm.
The Cosmic Krewe tackles swing next on "Big John Special." This interesting retro sounding tune was written by big band leader Fletcher Henderson's brother. The Krewe switches gears again for "Made a Mistake." This song has a bit of a avant/free jazz feel to it and features Medeski's slashing piano and clavinet punch notes in here and notes there. Sun Ra wrote the lyrics and Ray comments in the liner notes: "It's something Sun Ra used to say. It'd be great if everybody in the band made a mistake at the same time - then it'd be right."
There is no mistake in "6666," the song is perfect, straightup big band style jazz. The liner notes explain the song: "The title is deduced from the form of the song: six measures of one mode, six of another, six back and the bridge." Medeski adds a some playful clavinet sounds to this song. Finally, the album ends with another classic Sun Ra tune "Dance of the Cosmos Aliens." The song wraps up the album nicely as the listener ends his journey with the Cosmic Krewe with the celestial big band sounds of Sun Ra. The song transports the listener into the spaceways that Sun Ra, George Clinton and Michael Ray like so much.
"Funk If I Know" is a terrific album and showcases Ray's love for all genres of music: big band jazz, cosmic jazz, funk, swing, rap, and rock. The album is a cosmic party from start to finish and for the uninitiated serves as the perfect introduction to the Cosmic Krewe and Sun Ra. Buy this CD and you too can take a trip to the cosmos for under $20. What a bargain!
"Funk If I Know" can be ordered through CD Universe and the Cosmic Krewe website - www.satchmo.com/CosmicRay
Poi Dog Pondering-Natural Thing
review by Pete FikisIn case you haven't heard of the Chicago based Poi Dog Pondering, they just sold out six nights at the Vic Theatre, if that's any indication of their talent. Apparently the conclusion of Poi Dog with this line-up of eleven musicians. Lead singer and front man Frank Orrall will once again change the make-up of the band. You see, this is what Poi Dog does best, continuosly grows by way of creative musical experimentation. With the release release of their sixth full-length recording, Poi Dog blends some of the old style with what may become the new. The eleven member "big-band" with the help of thirteen satellite musicians has orchestrated the best album I've heard this year.
"Natural Thing", Poi Dogs first release with Tommy Boy Records, is a masterpiece that flows from beginning to end. Starting with "Octavio", an introductory orchestration by Paul Mertens, which leads into "Beautiful to Meet You". It's a nice calm opening to the album which then goes to a more upbeat energy filled mix called "Ta Bouche Est Tabou". This song features two of the satellite musicians, Charlette Wortham and Franck Guillet singing french lyrics.
Poi Dog features many new voices and styles on this album, including many techno-style drum sounds. The nicely placed track, "Berry" showcases Stuart singing rap-like lyrics and "Spend My Life (moorea mix)", uses amazing Tahitian drum beats. According to Frank, "This is following the idea of just having a little bit of lyrics just to frame it out and then letting the music speak". I get the impression that this is the way Poi Dog is leaning towards with the house-type sound and beautiful instrumentals.
The entire band contributes on most of the album, with the usual Poi Dog back-up vocals of Robert Cornelius, Kornell Hargove and Arlene Newson. You can hear samples of this on "Natural Thing", "Come Together", and the Frankie Knuckles cover "Hard Sometime". The tenth track, "Jealous" is one of my favorites, with Frank singing some beautiful lyrics along with the help of Carla Prather and others on back-up vocals. The album finishes with "Tracery/Tana Dery Na", another cover tune which features Paul Mertens on flute and more of the new techno drum type sounds.
The entire album is just amazing. With so many talented musicians contributing to a piece of work and blending this well its sad to see it ending. Just when you think Poi Dog is perfect, its time to move on with new ideas and members. But, who knows it may just become something even better. After all, the new sound that seems to be coming from the album is definitely very good and I look forward to hearing more of it.
For more information on Poi Dog Pondering visit their website at: http://www.poihq.com/poi/index.html Frank Orrall Quote courtesy of Poi Dog website.
Blueground Undergrass: Barnyard Gone Wrong
by Chip SchrammBarnyard Gone Wrong is an appropriate title for the first release from Blueground Undergrass. As the picture of the Siamese twin cows on the album cover might hint, the tunes and jams on the CD contain the base ingredients of music you've probably heard before - but with an original twist or two thrown in. Bluegrass music itself has seen quite a revival in the past 5 years. Progressive-minded bands such as Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident have taken Colorado mountain fiddle tunes and revved them up with their own personal touches. In much the same vein, "The Reverend" Jeff Mosier tackles his most recent project with aplomb. Jeff is well-schooled in bluegrass and folk/rock fusion. He was one of the founding members of the Aquarium Rescue Unit and was Phish's personal bluegrass mentor for a time during 1994. He lists both Col. Bruce Hampton (ret.) and Bill Monroe as his inspirations, so the original music and arrangements of old tunes on the album seem to fit pretty well. His brother Johnny, an accomplished guitarist in his own right, joins him on this album, as well as Michael Grando on drums, and Mark Bynum on bass. Mark Van Allen plays a slinky, flowing pedal steel and also did the mixing
The album opens with an upbeat little breakdown titled "Roger Judy." Jeff Mosier fires the first few banjo licks and it's off to the races from there. What makes Blueground Undergrass a legitimate jam band is the delicate balance between the members, even on the studio recording. Each member gets a solo, and they usually play off of each other, building to a climax. The recording process for the album was also unique. They recorded the whole thing live with very few overdubs. This allowed Jeff to sing and play banjo at the same time, something that really works on songs like "Mr. Lunchbox" and Chris Rosser's nostalgic folk ballad "Archeology."
The band does a lot more on this album than rehash old bluegrass music with electric instruments. The experiment a bit with some of the original influences of bluegrass music, namely Celtic rhythms and folk harmonies. These really come out in the give-and-take between Jeff Mosier, Blackmon, and Van Allen on their version of "Red-Haired Boy/Orange Blossom Spatial." It's both surprising and rewarding to see contemporary musicians take something old and make something new out of it. In a leap of versatility, the band employs a jazzy syncopation on "Farewell to Lemmings," as if to say "hey now watch us do THIS!"
There is definitely a lot of country influence on this album. With the self-anointed moniker "Psychedelic Hick-Hop Bluegrass," that seems to be taken into account. There is not much wasted space on any of the tracks. Even the instrumentals build to a climax after a round of jamming. Van Allen really shines on "Wichita Lineman." The exploratory jam on "Oh Death" spins upward through the atmosphere, only to drop the listener back off where it began at the end of the song. The Reverend's treatment of Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'" is so unique, one might forget whose song it really is.
Barnyard Gone Wrong is an album worth checking out. The musicianship is good, the songs are well chosen, and the technical aspects are solid. Not every track is a classic, but that's what the skip button on your remote control is for. Catching these guys on tour wouldn't be a bad idea either. Look for tourdates at www.rootcellarrecords.com. Even taking into account the live recording technique of the album, it seems likely that the band jams even harder on stage. At the end of the day, having fun with live music is what bluegrass is all about.
Foxtrot Zulu- "Frozen in Time" (Phoenix Rising)
By AJ Abrams ( fusionaj@aol.com) On "Frozen in Time" Foxtrot Zulu proves without a doubt that they are a premier groove band. From the beginning to end, a captivating groove emanates from the album and hooks the listener. The constant groove makes this a tight, smooth flowing album that moves swiftly from beginning to end. If a good book can be called a quick read then this album can be called a quick listen.The groove on this record is propelled by the horn section of TK Kyan (sax, mandolin, organ, vocals) and Jeff Light (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, harmonica, vocals). At times it sounds like there is a full horn section backing the band, but in reality it is just TK and Jeff. Their catchy, melodic horns hold the entire record together. It's no wonder the horns sound so good on this record because one of the producers, Harvey Jay Goldberg, has worked with Kool and the Gang, another band known for their funky horn section.
But the horns do not dominate or overpower Foxtrot's sound. "Frozen in Time" features a big, full band sound that every band member equally contributes to. There are very few solos of any kind on this album. Instead all the instruments blend into one gigantic gorgeous groove. It is a true group effort as every song is credited to the entire band. The other band members are: Nate Edmunds (vocals, rhythm guitar), Brad Haas (bass), Neal Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Miller (percussion), and Jeff Roberge (drums).
The album opens up with a short blast of feedback that melts into the percussion groove and booming bass of "The American." Several songs on the first half of this album seem to allude to loneliness. "The American" is about a whining, complaining man who is the only American in a small village somewhere in the world. The next song, "The Day the Moon Crashed to the Ground," theoretically is the title track of the album since it contains the line "frozen in time" a few times. As the song moves along in a zany ska shuffle featuring blaring horns the lyrics describe the only person who will survive a natural catastrophe. "Well they'll launch you in the thick of space before the day we die, Bring along a stopwatch and your Stetson hat, You'll be glad to be alive but you'll be alone, On the day the moon crashed to the ground."
Despite the title of the next song, "A Pretty Perfect God Damned Day," the band sings "I say goodbye to the World" in the chorus. But the music is joyous and has one of the best horn solos on the record. "A Statue of My Friend" follows and unfortunately sounds exactly like Blues Traveler. The theme of loneliness appears once again in the next song, "Reply." The lyrics contain the lines: "Is there someone just like me? Wasted for years. Hated for years. Fourteen years thought I was alone. Lost my culture...With this feeling. Lost by everyone." "Cop Cars and Credit Cars" is about a whorehouse. But prostitutes as well as their customers can be very lonely people as you can tell by the following lyric. "Went to the Bordello to find himself a wife. All he found was a fifteen year old fighting for her life."
Despite the lyrics that might be about loneliness quoted above, the music itself does not reflect that feeling. All the music on this album is high-energy groove rock. The guitars, horns and percussion combine to create uplifting, melodic music. The album comes to an emotional and musical peak as the band sings "everything is fine" on the seventh song titled "Did You Know." This song is my favorite and features a furious percussion and horn jam that is the climax of the song and album. This intense jam is the finest moment on the album. It loses some steam after this and the last three songs aren't nearly as good as the previous songs. "Seven Men" is a boring ballad, but actually contains the album's best guitar solo as Neil Jones guitar slowly cries and wails out.
"Frozen in Time" is a terrific album and a complete pleasure to listen to. The strong vocals and horns in particular make this a very enjoyable record. All the songs are melodic and extremely well written. The members of Foxtrot Zulu combine their instruments and songwriting talents to create a unique, fun, feel good sound. Nobody dominates this album either musically or lyrically. It takes a complete group effort to groove this hard.
"Frozen in Time" can be ordered through Phoenix Rising's website. www.radiophoenix.com .
Jimi Hendrix- "Live at the Fillmore East"
James LykosOn New Years Eve 1969 and New Years Day 1970, Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsies performed four legendary concerts in the capital of the world, New York City. Excerpts from these shows appeared on the Band of Gypsies album, released in 1970, but the bulk of the performances remained in the Hendrix family vaults. Now, major portions of these shows have been included in the two-disc set, Live at the Fillmore East. Thirteen of the sixteen tracks in this compilation were previously unreleased, and all offer an excellent portrait of the group at the height of its powers. It fills a large hole in the Hendrix canon, as the original Band of Gypsies album was the only previous live recording of the Band of Gypsies. This set allows for a fuller understanding of Hendrix's music and of his artistic development in a band that allowed him to fully realize his immense powers of improvisation and technique.
Backed by Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, the Band of Gypsies allowed Jimi Hendrix to stretch his guitar playing to the fullest and improvise to a greater extent than in the Experience. Cox and Miles comprised a looser and more relaxed rhythm section than the dynamic interplay of Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding. Where the Experience specialized in rock and roll with jazz inflections, the Band of Gypsies focused primarily on adopting a jazz structure first and rock pyrotechnics second. The use of Cox and Miles allowed Hendrix to adopt a free-form approach to soloing and essentially lead his rhythm section into different permutations of the same song.
The exceptional "Stone Free" that opens the Live at the Fillmore East album provides ample evidence of this transformation in Hendrix's approach to playing. The version with the Experience featured several manic guitar solos and furious playing by Mitchell and Redding, but the 13-minute version featured on this CD set shows Hendrix's ability to lead his band down new paths in the song. In addition to several incendiary solos, Hendrix alters the very structure of the song and includes several long jams to transform a three-minute radio single into a showcase of his improvisational abilities. It contributes to a radically different version of the song and one that exemplifies his abilities to both perform at an exceptionally high level and listen to his bandmates while improvising over them.
Other standout tracks on the CDs include "Power of Soul," both versions of "Machine Gun," and "Stepping Stone." All of these songs exemplify the distinct style that Hendrix achieved with the Band of Gypsies, and succeed in documenting this important stage in his artistic development. The excellent liner notes also convey a sense of place and excitement at the evolution of the Band of Gypsies that culminated over these two nights. The selections contained in Live at the Fillmore East indicate that Jimi Hendrix was moving in startlingly new directions in his approach to soloing and to song structures. They also prove that the Charlie Parker of the electric guitar still had much to say after the disbanding of the Experience. Although we may never know the extent of his genius, Jimi Hendrix's involvement in the Band of Gypsies highlights his abilities to play as part of a unified band to produce some of the greatest rock, jazz and blues music in history.
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