Amazing! One of the few rare records cut by Bill Dixon during the 60s, and a perfect example of "new thing" jazz in action. Trumpeter Dixon plays in 3 different ensembles – a nonet, a quintet, and a duet – with players like Byard Lancaster, Reggie Workman, Robert Pozar, and Jimmy Garrison. The tracks are long, with an approach that begins with compositional structures, but which also showcases the avant solo talents of the players – in a manner that's similar to some of the Blue Note work by Anthony Williams or Grachan Moncur III. A darn tough record to find – and with the tracks "Voices", "Nightfall Pieces I & II", and "Metamorphosis". (Comes in a great gatefold sleeve, too!) ~ Dusty Groove
Hard to go wrong with a set like this – because in our opinion, just about every track recorded by Fela is a "best" – which makes the collection a massive batch of goodness all the way through! Every track here is presented in its original extended version – a dozen massive slices of Afro Funk, which packaged together equal the equivalent of at least 5 or 6 separate albums by Fela – another factor that makes the collection a great one! The 2-CD set is filled with gems that helped redefine the sound of funk, soul, and world music back in the 70s – titles that include "Monkey Banana", "Everything Scatter", "Expensive Sh*t", "Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am", "Underground System (part 2)", "Sorry Tears & Blood", "Colonial Mentality", "Yellow Fever", "He Miss Road", "Black Man's Cry", "Mr Follow Follow", and "Na Poi". ~ Dusty Groove
"Polemicals” is taking the psychedelic jazz groove that the six piece band from Antwerp, Belgium is known for to the next level. It is still impossible to find the right box for BRZZVLL though. Jazz is the teacher but band leader Vincent Brijs and crew couldn’t care less about rules and regulations. From the epic, arabic flavoured opener “Jericho” to the sweet and deep ballad “Reino Dos Céus” BRZZVLL simply do what they want. Most times you can dance too to it and all the time you can trip with it. Compared to their 2010 album “Happy Live Creator” (produced by Ben Ladmin aka Nostalgia 77) the new BRZVVLL album has more of a live feel. Which is owed to the fact that “Polemicals” has been recorded at the Kip Kass studio, owned by the band’s keyboarder Jan Willems in Mortsel and produced by the band itself. In that aspect, “Polemicals” captures the sensational live performances better than any BRZVLL record before. ~ grooveattack.com