| C.D. Reviews | |||
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Doudou Ndiaye Rose - DJ Abote Who needs booze when you have Doudou?!?! There are many things that stick out about this album but at the top of my list is FEEL. Doudou and his ensemble produce such dizzy drunk time that one must sit down or stumble as they listen. The way that the notes are placed in time makes you wonder which note the players are intending on hitting. The solos that wobble over top of this vertiginous pocket are equally befuddling. This swimmy movement comes, in part, from the liberal use of pulse sub-division. Indeed, the players blur the lines of time and leave you grasping.... Combine this dizzy time with compositional movement, syncronized changes and the fact that Doudou must be playing with 30 drummers and I am left in awe that so many players can play with such drunkeness and be in the same place. The sound is HUGE. Beware, this music digs a pocket straight to the core of the earth and seduces you to fall all the way down.... or it will piss you off. Reviewed by: Christopher Austin |
Omar Sosa - Sentir Loose structures and basic themes make up the foundation for in-the-moment interaction. This seems to be a primary focus for Omar on this album. Lots of space. Lots of room to explore whatever theme is present. I do not think that any of the players hit the ceiling of what is available, but that also means that no one over plays. Most everyone comfortably occupies the space that they are in. Everything is built upon sparsely populated, Afro-Cuban based percussion grooves played on Latin instruments with the occasional darabouka inserted. The bass parts are mostly unremarkable save the comfortable groove and tasteful interaction. Piano is the primary solo instrument and Omar plays beautifully and rhythmically, often moving from a latin foundation into small moments of dense improvisation or interaction with the percussion or vocals. Very comfortable. The vocals range from Latin based phrases and singing to American hip-hop/rap/spoken word to Middle-Eastern styles. The Latin and Middle-Eastern styles fit very well into the music. However, I find the rap to be, somewhat, out of place. The thing I notice the most is there seems to be a "disharmony" between the way the M.C. is presenting his material and the rest of the music. Almost as if his material is more important. I do not get this sense from the other vocalists, they blend and weave very well with the other players. All in all, a very comfortable and listenable album. Reviewed by: Christopher Austin |
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