TAZAYARAH

BURNT SUGAR - If you can't dazzle them with your brillance, then baffle them with your blisluth [2 CD-R set] (Trugroid) Another live masterwork from our favorite local Arkestra and taken from four historic gigs in Bordeaux & San Sebastion (both on their European tour) and at Tonic & at The Vision Festival, all during Spring & Summer, 2004. Conducted by Greg Tate and featuring a stellar cast with Rene Akan & Tazayarah on guitars; Julia Kent & Okkyung Lee on cellos; Mazz Swift on violin; Jason DiMatteo (acoustic), Jared Nickerson (Electric) & Shazad Ismaily (+ banjo) on basses; Matana Roberts on alto sax; Petre Radu-Scafaru on tenor sax & Satch Hoyt on flute; Bruce Mack on synth; Vijay Iyer on piano & synth; Chris Eddleton, Trevor Holder & Qasim Naqvi on drums plus the voices of Jeremiah, Lisala, Justice Dilla-X & MC Omega Moon.
Burnt Sugar continue to evolve, with each performance different, but an extension of the previous one(s). Disc 1 starts with a rendition of Dizzy's "Night in Tunisia", first some fine solo sax, then adding an instrument or one section at a time and building from there. Soon layers of percussion, other saxes & basses get into the groove. Add some sly. sexy female jazz vocals later as the theme reappears. The swirling layers of lines move together tightly, yet they feel laid back at the same time. Greg has learned a great deal from his mentor Butch Morris, who conducted a previous Burnt Sugar disc called 'The Rites'. Tate pulls riffs and lines from this large ensemble, dreamy groove-scapes swell as one or two players take their time to play solos, just a few notes at at time, like a story unfolding. Most of the time this music is not about soloing as much as it is layering the sections, strings, reeds, percussion and creating an intriguing landscape of event. Both of these fabulous CDs are nearly 80 minutes each and although this is quite a long epic, it remains a long, magical journey to the stars and beyond. - BLG
- http://www.dtmgallery.com/Main/news/Newsletter-2005-05-06.html