Download - Downbeat

Eric Reed
Something Beautiful
WJ3 1009
HHHH
On perhaps the most aptly
titled album of the season,
Eric Reed, Reuben Rogers
and Rodney Green deliver an
almost impeccable trio performance.
Something Beautiful is
a little short on fireworks—no thrilling crescendos
or fiery swing. But that was never Reed’s
intention. What he strove for was something
more elusive: a synthesis of intelligence, imagination,
sophistication and above all taste. He attains
that goal and in that accomplishment presents a
different and more lasting kind satisfaction.
Let’s clarify a bit. These performances are
thrilling, in their understatement and elegance.
When swing is the thing, they swing but also
fascinate in how they do so. We don’t get steady
backbeats from Green; rather, his drumming
connects to the spirit of the material. On “Black
Tables,” he turns off his snare and plays very
sparely on it and the toms, adding an occasional
cymbal whisper, all played with a soft mallet.
There is rhythm here, a stately and dignified
movement that adds to the hypnotic effect of the
simple E–F# minor motif of the verses.
Rogers similarly gets maximum effect from
minimal gestures. His bass on “How Deep Is
The Ocean” does walk as Reed stretches out,
though his placement of short linear sequences,
isolated notes and silences on the opening verses
swings just as much, if more abstractly.
Rahsaan Barber
Everyday Magic
Jazz Music City 001
HHH
A friend once told me: “When I see a guitarist
with a Gibson Flying-V, I think, ‘You’d better
be able to play that thing.’” The same thing
holds if you’re a saxophonist named Rahsaan.
Fortunately, Rahsaan Barber lives up to the hope
his father had for him at birth (his twin brother
Roland appears on trombone on two tracks here).
Although more influenced by John Coltrane than
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the 31-year-old Barber is
a versatile reed player and an ambitious composer
who covers a lot of stylistic ground.
Like a lot of young musicians, Barber is
eager to show as much of his range as possible,
and that makes for a recording that meanders
when it might be homing in on a single target.
Everyday Magic kicks off hard and fast with
“Jubilee,” driven by drummer Nioshi Jackson,
and then shifts into two Coltrane-influenced
pieces with rolling tempos and a deep groove.
A heartfelt “Manhattan Grace” serves as a
pivotal point on the recording, carrying Barber
back to his gospel past, and highlighting Adam
Agati’s tart guitar. From there, it’s almost as if
This track demonstrates
another interesting
detail, in how Green
approaches standards.
The tune kicks off on the
first beat of bar one, with
no intro and no statement
of the theme. Instead, the
piano improvises from the
start, letting the identity of
the tune surface gradually,
more through the chord sequence as the melody.
This being a familiar title, there’s no reason to
spell it out until the very end.
Here, and everywhere on Something
Beautiful, Reed is enormously rewarding,
certainly as a player and just as much in his
arrangements. His left-hand inversions on “Lift
Up Your Hand To The Lord” lay a solid foundation
for the billowing dynamics and his simple
yet exultant right-hand articulations. “In Your
Own Sweet Way” is a lovely tribute to Dave
Brubeck, played of course in 5/4. And Noel
Coward’s “Mad About The Boy” edges playfully
on camp, with a tea-dance beat, impish commentaries
on the bass and Reed’s slinky, bluestinged
piano adding a seductive element. A
cha-cha-cha cadence feels inevitable as we near
the end, so when the band finishes instead on a
single short chord, it satisfies like hearing and
getting an inside joke. —Bob Doerschuk
Something Beautiful: Sun Out; In Your Own Sweet Way; Black
Tables; How Deep Is The Ocean; I Still Believe In You; Lift Up Your
Hands To The Lord; Mad About The Boy; Citadel; Honesty; Something
Beautiful; If I Knew You. (54:31)
Personnel: Eric Reed, piano; Reuben Rogers, bass; Rodney
Green, drums.
Ordering info: ericreed.net
a different mindset takes over. “Why So Blue”
is a feature for brother Roland, whose attack
and tone are more rooted in mainstream tradition,
and the four pieces that round out the
disc have all their rough edges buffed off, with
the notable exception of the closing moments
of “Redemption.”
—James Hale
Everyday Magic: Jubilee; Lost And Found; Floodsong; Manhattan
Grace; Why So Blue; Innocence; Adagio; Memphis Soul; Redemption.
(59:03)
Personnel: Rahsaan Barber, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone,
tenor saxophone, flute; Roland Barber, trombone (5, 8);
Adam Agati, guitar; Jody Nardone, piano; Jerry Navarro, bass,
Nioshi Jackson, drums; Giovanni Rodriguez, percussion (3, 8).
Ordering info: rahsaanbarber.com
Tinariwen
Tassili
Anti- 87148
HHH½
If there’s such a thing as a breakout desert-rock
album, it’s Tinariwen’s superb 2004 effort
Amassakoul. The Saharan band—founded by
Tuareg nomads driven from their lands by the
Malian government—gained the public’s attention
after European performances caught the
ear of luminaries such as Robert Plant, who
largely modeled his Mighty ReArranger after
the collective’s African modalism.
On the acoustic Tassili, Tinariwen retains
its trademark hypnotic rhythms and wanderer
themes yet drops the amplified, distortionstacked
approach that broadcast its maverick
restlessness and indefatigable ethos. The collective
also welcomes Western influences in the
guises of TV On The Radio members Tunde
Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, Wilco guitarist
Nels Cline and New Orleans jazzers Dirty
Dozen Brass Band. Not a crossover attempt as
much as a return to roots with fresh ripples, the
mellow-minded set engages by way of understated
grooves and emotional longing.
Flickering like the tip of a campfire flame
nipping at cool night air, nuanced guitar notes
coalesce into spring-loaded foundations against
which lead vocals moan in prayerful communion.
Group chants and soulful call-andresponse
rejoinders buttress such spirituality,
whose calmness is betrayed by overwhelming
feelings of loss, agony and sadness. Moaned
and ululated in the Tamashek language, lyrics
lamenting abandonment, struggle, anxiety and
challenges posed by desert existence are treated
as hymns—pleas for deliverance, cries for
patience, wishes for freedom. —Bob Gendron
Tassili: Imidiwan Ma Tenam; Asuf D Alwa; Tenere Taqhim Tossam;
Ya Messinagh; Walla Illa; Tameyawt; Imidiwan Win Sahara; Tamiditin
Tan Ufrawan; Tiliaden Osamnat; Djeredjere; Iswegh Attay; Takest
Tamidaret (53:51)
Personnel: Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, guitars, vocals; Alhassane Ag Touhami,
vocals; Eyadou Ag Leche, guitars, bass, percussion, vocals;
Elaga Ag Hamid, guitars, vocals; Said Ad Ayad, percussion, vocals;
Mohamad Ag Tahada, percussion, vocals; Mustapha Ag
Ahmed, vocals; Aroune Ag Alhabib, guitars, vocals; Abdallah Ag
Alhousseyni, guitar, vocals (12); Kyp Malone, guitars, vocals (2, 3,
5, 11); Tunde Adebimpe, vocals (3, 5, 7); Nels Cline, guitars (1);
Gregory Davis, trumpet (4); Roger Lewis, baritone and soprano
saxophone (4).
Ordering info: anti.com
88 DOWNBEAT DECEMBER 2011