Saxophonist
Trevor Watts
, electric bassist
Colin McEnzie
, and wildman percussionist
Paapa J. Mensah
have created perhaps the most accessible record ever issued on the
Intakt
label. Ten tracks of solid funky
jazz improv
full of deep grooves, shimmering riffs, and poignant, lyrical solos offer a vision of
Watts
that may not be exactly at odds with his persona in
the London Composers' Orchestra
or his larger percussion band on
ECM
, but nonetheless is more dimensionally varied. The set opens with
"Jungle Strut,"
a four-note bass figure from deep
funk
territory and a cut-time rhythmic structure that is decorated with
' alto running through scalar intervals in the middle.
"End of the Road"
is a five-note melodic theme that hypnotically repeats itself as
Mensah
's vocals chant hauntingly over the top and
moves into a solo over the percussion variations.
McEnzie
for his part moves the rhythmic considerations aside to concentrate on a more harmonic elemental groove. The
David Parsons
album
Yatra
influenced the track
"Yatra Groove."
Some of the samples
Parsons
used on
"Tibetan Plateau"
and elsewhere are here extrapolated musically and interspersed with
South African jive
melodies and polyrhythmic bass and drum considerations. It's a
dance
tune for sure, consumed with a flowery lyricism provided by watts on alto. Throughout, whether the mood is driving or laid-back, funky or shuffling, the sheer melodic invention of this band is wondrous and fresh. Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek