Search - Gato Barbieri, Dollar Brand :: Hamba Khale

A different side of Gato and Ibrahim

S. Hawkins | New York, NY | 10/27/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"But not for everyone. As the earlier review pointed out, this is a rather free excursion on the part of the two musicians. The opening track Hamba Khale, is a beautiful ballad featuring Dollar Brand (now Abdullah Ibrahim) playing with his beautiful, meditative style he's now known for, with Gato perfectly matching him on the alto.However, it then gets to "To Elsa" in which the two musicians take free unaccompanied solos. Dollar Brand's solo is strikingly bitonal and heavily classically influenced, while Gato's is...well, free with lots of extended techniques.My favorite track is the third, "Eighty First Street" which has something of an Ornette meets kwela sound - very fun.However, I will grant that the final track "Wildrose" is something of a self-indulgent meandering free jazz experiment (which is too bad, as it features Ibrahim on cello).All in all though, it's a good album that's worth checking out. Providing you like your music a little bit on the crazy side."

Great stuff

S. Hawkins | 10/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great free jazz excursions. Highly recommended. Not for conservative music people though"