From the opening cascade of chords-big, fat Rhodesy chords tinged with tube distortion and wah-wah-we are reminded of the influence of Miles Davis’ seminal experiments with rock elements in the late ’60s. Is it homage to Miles, or a tribute instead to the “groove” thread that sells so many records for Scofield, Medeski, Martin & Wood, et al.? What emerges is a kind of twisted nostalgia-the program includes a cover of the Les McCann hit “Compared to What” (the vocal here handled by Peace) and Cream’s “Sunshine of your Love.” The schizy character of the recording is perhaps indicated by the drummer’s decision to list both his “jazz” and “hip-hop” names: Ol Skool Jamz/Karriem Riggins. Reginald Veal plays bass and bass guitar behind the leader’s keyboards, with Motohiko Hino and Tamaya Honda adding drums on two tracks each.
Originally PublishedRelated Posts
Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee: Backwater Blues
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading
Become a JazzTimes member to explore our complete archive of interviews, profiles, columns, and reviews written by music’s best journalists and critics.
Jonathan Butler: The Simple Life
Jonathan Butler’s optimistic music belies a dirt-poor childhood growing up in a South Africa segregated by apartheid. Live in South Africa, a new CD and DVD package, presents a sense of the resulting inner turmoil, mixed with dogged resolve, that paved the way to his status as an icon in his country and successful musician outside of it. Looking back, the 46-year-old Butler says today, the driving forces that led to his overcoming apartheid-the formal policy of racial separation and economic discrimination finally dismantled in 1993-were family, faith and abundant talent.
“When we were kids, our parents never talked about the ANC [African National Congress] or Nelson Mandela,” he says. Butler was raised as the youngest child in a large family. They lived in a house patched together by corrugated tin and cardboard, in the “coloreds only” township of Athlone near Cape Town. “They never talked about struggles so we never knew what was happening.”
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading
Become a JazzTimes member to explore our complete archive of interviews, profiles, columns, and reviews written by music’s best journalists and critics.
Harry Connick, Jr.: Direct Hits
Two decades after his commercial breakthrough, Harry Connick Jr. taps legendary producer Clive Davis for an album of crooner roots and beloved tunes
Scott LaFaro
Previously unavailable recordings and a new bio illuminate the legend of bassist Scott LaFaro