Cornelius Claudio Kreusch & Blackmudsound - Scoop
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch & Blackmudsound
Scoop
1998 ACT GmbH
CC Kreusch - piano, muted piano, melodica
Greg Osby - Alto Sax
Bobby Watson - Alto Sax
Richard Bona, Salif Keita, Elisabeth Kontomanou - Vocals
Will Calhoun, Cyril Atef, Terri Lynn Carrington - drums/percussion
Anthony Cox, James Genus, Zaf Zapha - Acoustic and electric basses
plus various others
I initially found this gem in the bargain bin at Streetlight Records in San Jose for 4 bucks. It's a bargain at 14. CCK is a German pianist who has a wonderful playing style that draws heavily from Herbie and McCoy, and his phrasing is perpetually dynamic. He has some similarities to James Hurt, but I would wager is not as capable of Hurt's ability to play out on a dime if need be.
This album is composed rather than improvised, but it's well composed, performed with aplomb, and recorded with a dry, warm mix. It seems to be sitting in the common part of a Venn diagram where the spheres of Acid Jazz, early fusion, and straightahead co-mingle. There is also regular smatterings of world beat, but never as a token effort (the album is song driven, rather than having a unified concept). CCK assembles an excellent cast of players to help flesh out his ideas. The title track uses Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun and session bassist james Genus to do a noisy work out that is tight but not stiff.
Tracks like Pulse and Niles are short but sweet. Faith comes of as a bit contrived in the lyric department (this album is mostly instrumental, but has several vocal tracks and vocal chants here and there), but Salif with the incomparable Salif Keita of Mali is excellent. Feel! is an excellent trio piece with Terri Lynn Carrington and Anthony Cox (a stupidly underrated bassist. Go find his solo album Dark Metals to learn for yourself). Calhoun makes another play with his Nigerian clay drum percussion work on Flame which works as an excellent shuffling groove for Richard Bona's supple vocals and CCK's muted piano. Osby lays out some choice bits on several tracks -the man simply cannot play badly- and this is very apparent on Wocai which sounds like it could have come from a late 80s Osby afro-fusion escapade (circa Mind Games but better recorded), as is Nomad which lopes along with a stellar vamp laid out by CCK.
It's a little more cerbral than most acid jazz, and not swinging enough to really fit into what passes for straightahead these days, this is simply a really good debut album for people who like a little variety. It would also probably be a good intro album for folks trying to get their feet wet with jazz who aren't prepped for Coltrane or Ornette yet, but are beyond quiet storm boredom.
You might like this if you like:
Sade - Stronger Than Pride
Greg Osby - Mind Games
Salif Keita - Papa
Groove Collective - any
Herbie Hancock - The New Standard
Rachel Z - On The Milky Way Express
Scoop
1998 ACT GmbH
CC Kreusch - piano, muted piano, melodica
Greg Osby - Alto Sax
Bobby Watson - Alto Sax
Richard Bona, Salif Keita, Elisabeth Kontomanou - Vocals
Will Calhoun, Cyril Atef, Terri Lynn Carrington - drums/percussion
Anthony Cox, James Genus, Zaf Zapha - Acoustic and electric basses
plus various others
I initially found this gem in the bargain bin at Streetlight Records in San Jose for 4 bucks. It's a bargain at 14. CCK is a German pianist who has a wonderful playing style that draws heavily from Herbie and McCoy, and his phrasing is perpetually dynamic. He has some similarities to James Hurt, but I would wager is not as capable of Hurt's ability to play out on a dime if need be.
This album is composed rather than improvised, but it's well composed, performed with aplomb, and recorded with a dry, warm mix. It seems to be sitting in the common part of a Venn diagram where the spheres of Acid Jazz, early fusion, and straightahead co-mingle. There is also regular smatterings of world beat, but never as a token effort (the album is song driven, rather than having a unified concept). CCK assembles an excellent cast of players to help flesh out his ideas. The title track uses Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun and session bassist james Genus to do a noisy work out that is tight but not stiff.
Tracks like Pulse and Niles are short but sweet. Faith comes of as a bit contrived in the lyric department (this album is mostly instrumental, but has several vocal tracks and vocal chants here and there), but Salif with the incomparable Salif Keita of Mali is excellent. Feel! is an excellent trio piece with Terri Lynn Carrington and Anthony Cox (a stupidly underrated bassist. Go find his solo album Dark Metals to learn for yourself). Calhoun makes another play with his Nigerian clay drum percussion work on Flame which works as an excellent shuffling groove for Richard Bona's supple vocals and CCK's muted piano. Osby lays out some choice bits on several tracks -the man simply cannot play badly- and this is very apparent on Wocai which sounds like it could have come from a late 80s Osby afro-fusion escapade (circa Mind Games but better recorded), as is Nomad which lopes along with a stellar vamp laid out by CCK.
It's a little more cerbral than most acid jazz, and not swinging enough to really fit into what passes for straightahead these days, this is simply a really good debut album for people who like a little variety. It would also probably be a good intro album for folks trying to get their feet wet with jazz who aren't prepped for Coltrane or Ornette yet, but are beyond quiet storm boredom.
You might like this if you like:
Sade - Stronger Than Pride
Greg Osby - Mind Games
Salif Keita - Papa
Groove Collective - any
Herbie Hancock - The New Standard
Rachel Z - On The Milky Way Express
posted by theloniusfunk at 11:03 PM
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