1. Cause and Effect
2. Black Unstoppable
3. February
4. Love Has No Boundaries
5. Sun Cycles
6. The Creator Has Other Plans For Me
7. Life Wants You to Love
8. Navigator
9. Thanking the Universe
Nicole Mitchell - Flute, alto flute, piccolo
David Boykin - Tenor sax, percussion
David Young - Trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
Jeff Parker - Guitar
Justin Dillard - Piano (tracks 4, 5, 8)
Tomeka Reid - Cello, shakere
Josh Abrams - Bass
Marcus Evans - Drums
Ugochi Nwaogwugwu - Vocals (tracks 4, 7, 9)
Nicole
Mitchell plays the flute - indeed, she has
twice been voted top in the Rising Star Flautist
category in Down Beat magazine. And
this album shows why she is an important artist,
as she is not only a virtuoso flautist but
also an inventive composer. She wrote all
the numbers on this CD and they cleverly mix
African and jazz rhythms with bluesy soul
and plenty of avant-garde freedom and experimentation.
The music can sometimes sound chaotic but
in this respect it reminds me of the work
of Charlie Mingus - another visionary bandleader.
This
intriguing mix is present from the very first
track, which sounds like a post-bop anthem
interleaved with a primitive rhythm. The shifting
idioms in the title-track are very reminiscent
of Mingus, with scraping bass noises and discordant
flute and guitar sounds on top of a jostling
beat, which shifts around unpredictably. Despite
the occasional hints of anarchy, the music
feels structured and therefore remains accessible.
February
bounces along quite amiably, although
with an undercurrent of menace. Love Has
No Boundaries introduces vocalist Ugochi
Nwaogwugwu in a fairly straightforward blues,
with a middle section that sounds almost like
Manhattan Transfer. David Young's solo is
steeped in the righteous preaching of the
blues, as are the solos by Nicole Mitchell,
pianist Justin Dillard and cellist Tomeka
Reid. For the first-time listener to the band,
this would be a good way in - without too
many surprises to be off-putting. The Creator
Hs Other Plans For Me has an attractively
bouncy beat, with a swirling tenor sax solo
from David Boykin and Tomeka Reid supplying
a remarkably fluent solo on cello, sounding
close to a violin.
Ugochi's
vocals on Life Wants You to Love are
very powerful (apparently assisted by Nicole
singing - not credited on the sleeve). This
has an African atmosphere, with shakers and
brass riffs. Nicole solos here on the piccolo,
soaring heavenwards and slightly ear-splittingly.
Navigator has further Mingus echoes
with free-form cello, undisciplined piano
and wild saxophone. The set ends with Thanking
the Universe, propelled by funky riffs
beneath Ugochi's optimistic vocal and Jeff
Parker's unfettered guitar.
Nicole
Mitchell achieves the difficult feat of making
the avant-garde palatable by mingling it with
more user-friendly elements. There is also
a DVD (which I haven't seen) of the same material
recorded live at Chicago's Velvet Lounge.
Tony
Augarde
CD Reviews
Delmark
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