79.00 PLN

CD:

Nr kat.: M04432
Label  : Mapleshade (USA)

Brzmienie Mapleshade... Podobnego nie znajdą Państwo nigdzie indziej na świecie. Czym się wyróżnia? Brutalną, wręcz porażającą prawdą naturalnego brzmienia. Dźwięki instrumentów brzmią zrazu niecodziennie. Uzupełnia je genialna wprost scena. Muzycy grają razem, patrzą sobie w oczy, gestykulują, podkreślają emocje gestami, minami, pozą ciała. Wzajemnie się motywują, dialogują. I to słychać w sposób wręcz namacalny. Bo ta właśnie realność lub realizm to kolejny element zaskoczenia od pierwszych sekund odsłuchu tych nagrań. Wszyscy Państwo poczują metafizyczne drgniecie organizmu. Całego, warz z nim i duszy. Bo nie są Państwo przygotowani na dźwięk tak NATURALNY. I idę o zakład... O zakład, ze po kilku sekundach poczują Państwo lekką dezorientację. Nie będą Państwo wiedzieli, co jest tu ważniejsze: brzmienie czy treść. Albo: treść ma znaczenie wtórne wobec takiego brzmienia! Jest też trzecia możliwość: cóż za treść! Ileż zyskuje muzyka dzięki TAKIEMU brzmieniu! Nawet najbardziej awangardowa Czyżby dowód na istnienie 'czystej formy'?! Andy McKee plays the devil out of the bass, as his performances with the Mingus Big Band, Elvin Jones and others have proved. His walking lines are wrist-thick, filled with limber notes; his intonation is spot-on; and he might as well be sitting behind the drums given his time feel. The cat can solo, too, letting loose singing phrases that have a horn-like shape. You hear all that on Sound Roots, which features McKee's quintet, NEXT. The album shows that this youthful journeyman can write to boot. Both as a dynamic composer and fearless, resourceful arranger (All Blues), McKee consistently turns to the unexpected, keeping the listener happily surprised. The mood here is modern, blues-tinged, energized, swinging, unfettered. There are references to Mingus, naturally, Coltrane (the lyric turn of the title track) and Miles, but this music has a personal sound not quite like anyone else's. The collection is a series of choice moments that can be enjoyed repeatedly, and, I would imagine, for many years as well. All Blues rides in on a windstorm from Kilson's drums, the head stated languorously over this foment. Then solos from Kisor and Foster, two distinctive, different and decidedly under recognized stylists, are heard over a repeating bass vamp. Blues Interrogation segues from a punchy melody and group free improv (back and forth four times) to a gutsy slow blues that's just seven bars long. Here, Kisor interweaves intricate, juicy lines with simpler ones and Cherry, another unsung musician, drops in ringing chords — he relishes texture — and fierce lines that show his fondness for B.B. King, et.al. Hilltop Stomp is a Mingus-esque 12/8 blues, ? la Better Git Hit In Your Soul. Bluiett, digging into his blues bag, cooks within the changes, and then without them. 56 Blows, written after the initial Rodney King verdict, is anger in music. With Cherry offering searing lines over tempestuous beats from Kilson and McKee, this is not a pleasant track but its meaning is razor-sharp. U-Turn finds Foster and Kisor soloing simultaneously over a single chord, creating a unified sound seemingly without intent. McKee is not adverse to beauty: both his Inner Circle and In A Perfect World are moving and tender, as is Cherry's leaning toward-pop Andrea. A definite plus here is the superb audio, a Mapleshade standard. Recorded direct to analog (then transferred to digital) without as much as a mixing board, let alone overdubs, the sound here is live and large. Details are everywhere, with Kilson's set so clean that his slightest change of inflection is discernible. With Sound Roots, McKee joins a growing group of bassist/leaders who show they not only know music, they can make splendid recordings. Well done. (Down Beat, Zan Steward)