Search - Dion Person, Ron Blake :: 21st Century

Infectious

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 06/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Looking for Caribbean jazz to die for? Look no farther. No, it's not Andy Narell, though he'd certainly be one to qualify. Nor is it Monty Alexander, another contender. And it's not the Caribbean Jazz Project. You can't really go wrong with any of these, but none have the deep swinging vibe this disc so effortlessly and wonderfully delivers.



The closest thing to it, at least to these ears, is Oliver Lake's two Steel Quartet discs, although there's not the avant-garde edge to this disc that those two contain. Another analog, though somewhat unlikely, is Ahmad Jamal's disc with Othello Molineaux's, The Essence Part 3. (Monty Alexander's three Ivory and Steel disc occupy pretty different territory.)



What I love about this disc is its, what I call, "Caribbean abandon." What we've got here is let-it-all-hang-out music: players just playing their butts off in service to some of the swingingest music on the planet. Check out "Avocado" for a taste of what I mean. But there's an irreducible infectiousness all over this disc: once heard, it's hard to resist.



Featuring some top-rank players at the height of their powers, this fantastic disc sadly seems to have slipped through the cracks. Why not do your part to redress this minor tragedy and snatch up this disc before it becomes forever unavailable?"