Jazz Gumbo

Artist / Tune / Album // Buckshot Lefonque / Music Evolution / Music Evolution // Opa / Montevideo / Magic Times // Norman Connors / Mother of the Future / Slewfoot // Marion Brown / Maimoun / Vista // John Coltrane / Blue Train / Blue Train // Art Ensemble of Chicago / Joro / The Paris Session // Herbie Hancock / You’ll Know When You Get There / Mwandishi // King Crimson / Starless / Red // Pat Martino / Line Games / Joyous Lake // I REALLY like this set! Sure, I really like all my sets, because I love this music, but… I REALLY like this one. Because it’s full of big pieces – mostly long, and going deeply into the unique sounds and stylings of each performer. The music is coming from many different directions, but there’s a great flow to the set, how each piece feeds into the next:“Mother of the Future” and “Maimoun” are different in all the obvious ways, but both carry an urban, summertime, rhythmic heat. From Trane to the Art Ensemble is another leap, from sophistication and improvisational verve, to a really loose, brothers-hanging-out-on-the-corner kinda feeling, but there’s a laid back blues-ness that they share. The two pieces I started off knowing I wanted to play are “Montevideo” and “Starless”. Opa is a group from Uruguay, and their number celebrates their capital city with a blast of latin, rhythmic groove. It was the perfect thing to get the set going. Then, the King Crimson brings the set almost to a close with a piece that’s almost operatic in its range and feel. Just needed the bouncy touch from Pat Martino to finish it off. I hope you like it as much as I do! Thrive! Kirby