Snug Harbor may be a jazz club/bistro on Frenchman St. in New Orleans but dismiss any preconceived notions that this album is in anyway related to the distant past. These five guys' idea of the past would be akin to what the Jazz Messengers might have sounded like had the band been formed tomorrow.
Bradford and Pascal are as wild as a Force 9 building up to a Force 11. The heat is on, it's the hardest of hard bop and then some. Bradford hits notes even dogs would struggle to hear. Pascal must be an octopus - no mere two-handed saxophonist could play as many notes as he does.
Rossignoli and Jordan bring a degree of sanity to the goings on. Both pianist and bassist draw enthusiastic whoops and hollers during their solos whilst leader Anderson drives things ferociously along before moving up a gear for an extended solo. This is one of those albums that needs some street jargon expletives intermingled with a few profanities to get the message across. For an album as asskicking as this one is, WOW! on its own just doesn't cut it.
Of course there are moments when the beast makes way for the beauty with Understanding a prime, and touching example. Essence of the Soldier is almost another. Cool and emotional, but with an undercurrent that gradually builds up from an uneasy peace to full scale all out violence. A temporary, uncertain peace that doesn't last and could relate to many places in this unsettled world we live in.
One for your bucket list - at the top. Lance
P.J.'s; Lil' Miss Ariel; Lil' Froggy's Blues; Vengeance; Understanding; '88 to 1621; Essence of the Soldier; The Bruz of AD2
No comments :
Post a Comment