April 2003

Dennis Chambers
Outbreak
ESC

By Lucy Tauss

Drummer Dennis Chambers may be renowned the world over for his powerful style and extraordinary versatility, but when he began working on Outbreak (ESC), his first American recording as a leader, he decided to eschew flashy solos in favor of just playing grooves. Chambers-whose resume includes stints with John Scofield, Parliament-Funkadelic, Santana and Mike Stern, to name just a few-is joined by several well-known friends, including Scofield, Michael and Randy Brecker, Will Lee, Jim Beard (who also produced the album) and Chambers' onetime P-Funk bandmate Rodney "Skeet" Curtis. The result is a free-spirited, all-star jam session with Chambers' potent drumming as its hard-grooving driving force. The title track is a no-holds-barred jam featuring Michael Brecker soloing with abandon, while the funky "Groovus Interruptus" is reminiscent of Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep." Scofield honors Baltimore-born Chambers with his bouncy tribute "Baltimore, DC," and the album closes with a cover of James Brown's "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothin'." With this CD, Chambers and Co. are talkin' loud and sayin' a lot.