The Brighton Beat

The Brighton Beat are at Spike Hill in Wiliamsburg tonight, Nov 24. Not only are the band’s studio recordings both up as free downloads at their Bandcamp page, but they’ve also got a treasure trove of live recordings at their main site. Smart move: one taste of this will hook you for life if the most psychedelic side of Afrobeat or reggae is your thing. The eleven-piece band’s songs are long, going on for as much as ten minutes at a clip in the studio and longer onstage. Their formula is unhurried yet very tightly focused: introduce the hook and then follow that with slowly unwinding, casually crescendoing solos. Nobody overplays, and much as everybody in the band takes his time getting where he’s going, the point is that they all get there: this stuff doesn’t sound anything like Phish. For that matter, it doesn’t sound much like anybody else either. Washington’s Elikeh come to mind, but the Brighton Beat are much more of a jamband, and on the occasion that they go deep into dub, they’re very good at it.

The latest studio album opens with a trickily rhythmic, hypnotically Ethio-flavored number with elements of vintage ska. Zach Kamins’ echoey Rhodes piano solo switches to organ and then back, Mark Cocheo’s guitar goes growling and then hands off elegantly to Mark Zaleski’s alto sax. The second track, Changing Elevators is more of a straight-up Afrobeat number that vamps and meanders and then suddenly comes together out of a long Jon Bean tenor sax solo with a snarling minor-key phrase. Then the guitar does the same thing. As with several of the songs here, they band gracefully fades it down.

By contrast, Giraffe is a balmy, loping tune driven by Ryan Hinchey’s catchy bassline, raging alto sax contasting with the organ as Kamins wiggles the tremolo. Capture the Flag builds with solos from baritone sax and guitar ove a lush Isaac Hayes-style soul/funk vamp, while the darkest track on this album, The Paradox, pairs off uneasy chromatics from the keys and guitar against the horns’ fiery Ethiopiques. The album ends with twelve minutes of Indian Summer, a hypnotic, trippy dub anchored by very cleverly shifting bass beneath layers and layers of swirly atmospherics, ominous guitar and sax lines.

Be aware that some of the live shows are big files (the Ryles Jazz Club gig from this past August is practically 400 mb); you’ll want to make sure your wifi is screaming and you’ve got enough space on that flash drive. - New York Music Daily - Delarue

The Brighton Beat are at Spike Hill in Wiliamsburg tonight, Nov 24. Not only are the band’s studio recordings both up as free downloads at their Bandcamp page, but they’ve also got a treasure trove of live recordings at their main site. Smart move: one taste of this will hook you for life if the most psychedelic side of Afrobeat or reggae is your thing. The eleven-piece band’s songs are long, going on for as much as ten minutes at a clip in the studio and longer onstage. Their formula is unhurried yet very tightly focused: introduce the hook and then follow that with slowly unwinding, casually crescendoing solos. Nobody overplays, and much as everybody in the band takes his time getting where he’s going, the point is that they all get there: this stuff doesn’t sound anything like Phish. For that matter, it doesn’t sound much like anybody else either. Washington’s Elikeh come to mind, but the Brighton Beat are much more of a jamband, and on the occasion that they go deep into dub, they’re very good at it.

The latest studio album opens with a trickily rhythmic, hypnotically Ethio-flavored number with elements of vintage ska. Zach Kamins’ echoey Rhodes piano solo switches to organ and then back, Mark Cocheo’s guitar goes growling and then hands off elegantly to Mark Zaleski’s alto sax. The second track, Changing Elevators is more of a straight-up Afrobeat number that vamps and meanders and then suddenly comes together out of a long Jon Bean tenor sax solo with a snarling minor-key phrase. Then the guitar does the same thing. As with several of the songs here, they band gracefully fades it down.

By contrast, Giraffe is a balmy, loping tune driven by Ryan Hinchey’s catchy bassline, raging alto sax contasting with the organ as Kamins wiggles the tremolo. Capture the Flag builds with solos from baritone sax and guitar ove a lush Isaac Hayes-style soul/funk vamp, while the darkest track on this album, The Paradox, pairs off uneasy chromatics from the keys and guitar against the horns’ fiery Ethiopiques. The album ends with twelve minutes of Indian Summer, a hypnotic, trippy dub anchored by very cleverly shifting bass beneath layers and layers of swirly atmospherics, ominous guitar and sax lines.

Be aware that some of the live shows are big files (the Ryles Jazz Club gig from this past August is practically 400 mb); you’ll want to make sure your wifi is screaming and you’ve got enough space on that flash drive. - New York Music Daily - Delarue

People tend to forget that jazz started out as dance music. Afro-beat aficionados The Brighton Beat thrive on stage, but have managed to capture the excitement of their live shows in the studio when they recorded The Brighton Beat LP. The band members can roam free in the six lengthy tracks. Keeping in touch with each other is key element of their sound, taking turns in the spotlight and providing support to the next guy's musical wanderings.

Taking cues from The Beatles during their Hey Jude phase (Giraffe), Seventies funk and disco (Capture The Flag) and jazz rock from Blood, Sweat and Tears variety (The Paradox). With Steve Winwood inspired keyboards and a tight sax and trombone section, the sheer joy of this NYC ensemble is contagious. They will not change the worlds, but their music can put off dark thoughts about the economy and global warming for awhile.
- Here Comes The Flood music blog - Hans Werkman

People tend to forget that jazz started out as dance music. Afro-beat aficionados The Brighton Beat thrive on stage, but have managed to capture the excitement of their live shows in the studio when they recorded The Brighton Beat LP. The band members can roam free in the six lengthy tracks. Keeping in touch with each other is key element of their sound, taking turns in the spotlight and providing support to the next guy's musical wanderings.

Taking cues from The Beatles during their Hey Jude phase (Giraffe), Seventies funk and disco (Capture The Flag) and jazz rock from Blood, Sweat and Tears variety (The Paradox). With Steve Winwood inspired keyboards and a tight sax and trombone section, the sheer joy of this NYC ensemble is contagious. They will not change the worlds, but their music can put off dark thoughts about the economy and global warming for awhile.
- Here Comes The Flood music blog - Hans Werkman

I am always excited when someone sends me “something different” to review. This week’s submission from The Brighton Beat is one example of that. It is an Afrobeat jazz release by a large collection of musicians, double digits per the latest bio, along with a slew of others that will join them occasionally. Surprisingly they are based in New York, not Brighton, but they do have nice little soccer icon next to their name in the webpage tab, so I guess that makes up for it a little.

Like most Afrobeat groups, much of their music is influenced by the legendary Fela Kuti. Their songs are driven by rhythm and percussion. The grooves change nicely over the six tracks so you aren’t left feeling that this album is one long song. I appreciate this since ability can only take jazz release so far for most listeners. Switching it up a bit can do wonders for those of us that aren’t jazz aficionados. Half of the songs clock in over 10 minutes in length, but rarely did I feel them drag on, except for the last track “Indian Summer” which is also the longest song so it didn’t help.

The Brighton Beat does get a bit artsy at times, they are a jazz band after all, but it doesn’t really get long enough to be off-putting. More importantly is that while they are a jazz band, they are very danceable and I think that makes them quite appealing. They get groovy, funky, and smooth. The rhythms create the songs, and then the horns, keys, and guitar take you down numerous paths. Call it what you want, but The Brighton Beat has made an entertaining album that is enjoyable for those that consider themselves jazz fans or not.

Key Tracks: Changing Elevators, Capture the Flag - MuzikReviews.com - Kevin Kozel

I am always excited when someone sends me “something different” to review. This week’s submission from The Brighton Beat is one example of that. It is an Afrobeat jazz release by a large collection of musicians, double digits per the latest bio, along with a slew of others that will join them occasionally. Surprisingly they are based in New York, not Brighton, but they do have nice little soccer icon next to their name in the webpage tab, so I guess that makes up for it a little.

Like most Afrobeat groups, much of their music is influenced by the legendary Fela Kuti. Their songs are driven by rhythm and percussion. The grooves change nicely over the six tracks so you aren’t left feeling that this album is one long song. I appreciate this since ability can only take jazz release so far for most listeners. Switching it up a bit can do wonders for those of us that aren’t jazz aficionados. Half of the songs clock in over 10 minutes in length, but rarely did I feel them drag on, except for the last track “Indian Summer” which is also the longest song so it didn’t help.

The Brighton Beat does get a bit artsy at times, they are a jazz band after all, but it doesn’t really get long enough to be off-putting. More importantly is that while they are a jazz band, they are very danceable and I think that makes them quite appealing. They get groovy, funky, and smooth. The rhythms create the songs, and then the horns, keys, and guitar take you down numerous paths. Call it what you want, but The Brighton Beat has made an entertaining album that is enjoyable for those that consider themselves jazz fans or not.

Key Tracks: Changing Elevators, Capture the Flag - MuzikReviews.com - Kevin Kozel