One of the words ad hucksters frequently use, probably from their in-house shrinky-dinks - is “experience.” Examples are many: “Experience the luxury of fine leather,“ or “Experience that feeling of owning the road.” The suits have turned the word bland. Now when this reviewer tells you that listening to vocalist/spoken-word artist, Tony Adamo is an experience, I’m telling you that what you will hear covers a spectrum that will surprise, startle, and paint pictures, and in doing so, creates vivid experience.
Adamo’s
moody and broody General T, recently plucked and remastered from his Tony
Adamo and the New York Crew album (Urbanzone Records, 2015) and now released
as a single, is yet another example of Adamo’s best stuff. The central subject
at hand is one “General T,” a play on vocalist, Leon Thomas (late of “The
Creator Has a Master Plan,” done with Pharaoh Sanders). The title and image of General
T is also inspired by a real-life – and thoroughly jazzed-up - military friend
of the artist.
Mike
Clark’s drums sizzle from beat one before Adamo launches into his trademark spoken
word tale with the horns underneath delivering slow, and somewhat dark, mood tones.
The rhythm section invigorates as Adamo’s reverbed voice and pungent lyrics
tell the story which, gravitating out of a scene at the Village Vanguard, grows
in intensity. Adamo’s slick lyrics throb and nab your senses in their imagery.
The listener is shrewdly goaded by the lines and vibe to repeat play so as to
catch all elements obvious and subtle.
Adamo’s
wordings are well-crafted and full of hipster buzz words that do sizzle. You
get a jazz history lesson which each stanza. The overall perspective one senses
from this tale is a driving, dynamic, funky landscape, festooned with all of
the ancillary trappings of hipsterdom.
The
ensemble supporting Adamo is A-1. The rhythmic feel is free, yet well-tied to
the words. Trumpeter Tim Ouimette’s arrangement is hand-glove with the overall tone
of the verbiage. Saxophonist Donald Harrison, pianist Michael Wollf, bassist
Richie Goods, and drummer Mike Clark all shine. Clark particularly drains every
tonal element out of his set to support.
Over
the course of jazz history, there have been many who have merged – or attempted
to – lines with lines. Remember the Beat poets of Kerouac’s time? Some mergers were
comedic, think Lord Buckley. Others such as Gil Scott-Heron later on, brought
more of a political and social message with the music. Adamo is unique in that
his game is hipster historical and jazz educational without him being an
elitist or a phony. He is a talented, visionary artist who knows his stuff and better
yet, delivers it in a way that ignites experience. Nick Mondello
1 comment :
Yo, Many, hip beyond words thank you. To Nick Mondello and Bebop Spoken Here. Dig this, man, jazz is a living scripture, and we're only asking for more.
Tony Adamo/Jazz Free
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