a r t i s t : avishai cohen
t i t l e : after the big rain
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : anzic records
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Jan/2008
t r a c k s : 08
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 78,7 MB
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Reviewers sometimes get too caught up playing the label game:
jazz, pop, world (Ah, the ambiguous catch-all label), rock,
ambient. Whenever a writer struggles with material that lacks
a definite musical anchor, I am reminded of the transformation
seen through Miles Davis' electric years. Squeaky horns,
abusive guitars, fuzzed-out keyboards, all woven together with
constantly shifting, obscenely polyrhythmic percussion. It was
jazz, pop, rock, ambient, and a handful of other things.
Forget the category, nothing sounded like this.
Trumpeter Avishai Cohen takes the Miles model of sound
diversity and moves it in two directions at once: toward the
modern and the organic. That might sound like a full-on
contradiction in terms but it's not.
Cohen brings with him West African guitarist/vocalist Lionel
Loueke. That world folk influence is often paired against a
trumpet that's given the heavy effects treatment. "Parto
Forte" is a fine example of this, with the lilting guitar
giving way to some brutally distorted horn passages. The more
traditional (from a jazz perspective) "Afterthoughts" has
Cohen sharing the blues with Jason Linder's Fender Rhoades.
It's on this tune that Cohen is squarely in the old-school
Miles camp. Still, the presence of Loueke's vocals (sung in
Fon, the language of country of Benin) give the music a
decidedly organic feel, despite the pull toward the modern.
All of these flavors come together on the ultra-intense
"African Daisy (La Suite African)". The opening chords,
delivered with an almost rock swagger, set up the harmonic
boundaries that will inspire the improvisations to follow.
Everybody takes a turn but it's Cohen who stretches out with
first a more proper "Jazz solo" before applying the
electronics and heading off to freak-land. With a sound
reminiscent of Miles-meets-Don Cheery-meets Cuong Vu (and
lifted by the stellar percussion of Daniel Freedman), Cohen's
explorations had me tweeking the volume on several occasions.
I just couldn't help myself.
After The Big Rain can be safely placed on your shelf in the
section on West African music. Or jazz... or pop or.... Take
your pick. Unless you're that uptight, it shouldn't diminish
the pleasure gained from this wide-ranging and exhilarating
music.s
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01-after the big rain [06:16]
02-parto forte [11:48]
03-gbede temin [04:39]
04-meditation on two chords [08:16]
05-afterthoughts-(mozartine) [07:20]
06-miryama [03:44]
07-african daisy (la suite african) [11:05]
08-after the big rain-(epilogue) [06:00]
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59:08 min