Quote:
Originally Posted by JimK  ...and J had his album (The Low C# Theory) reviewed a few years ago in one of the other bass rags... |
The editor of BP at the time Bill Leigh did the review of that CD and he did not like it. I believe if the cd was from a more known bass player with companies behind me putting out half or full page adds it would have gotten a different review.
Here's a few tracks from The Low C# Theory recording.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuxIa3Ca6x8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BtKRphwEXQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoYti1XdMgs
And here is JimK's review of my CD The Low C# Theory. (thank you Jim).
I have had some time now with Jauqo's disc. I am definitely into the "Free", creating while on the spot playing... something very difficult to pull off convincingly. I found it interesting that the guitarists could neither see nor hear each other while the actual playing/recording these pieces. Reminds me a little of the technique Jaco used to record "Crisis"... Jaco would feed snippets into each players' headphones as they added their part (FWIW, "Crisis" was NOT a LIVE/everybody playing at once experiment). Jauqo's album is a ONE-take, free-for-all endeavor... totally unlike "Crisis" in that regard.
In Jauqo's liner notes, he sez drummer Ernie Adams had just come off the road with Al DiMeola... it sounds like it. Adams is hitting on all cylinders; he is a beast (note all the pieces kick off with the drums establishing some direction).
Jauqo's bass is very clean & tight. I did try to listen ONCE while in my car... you may owe me a new set of speakers! To me, much of the grooves were in a driving Rock-Fusion style. Maybe, MAYBE, a little more variation in 'feel' with some more 'dymnamics' would help seperate some of the pieces' energy... at times, I almost felt as though I was listening to one long piece (& there's certainly nothing wrong with that). Jauqo sez this was the 1st time he had played with Ernie Adams; they do have much sympatico goin' on... you can hear each player feeding & feeding off the other. Very, very happenin'.
The two guitarists are panned left/right. DaLawn Simpson sounds like he's outta the Sonny Sharrock/Pete Cosey/Hendrix/Vernon Reid school. He's got using the nasty feedback as a sonic tool in order to paint a picture down. Hope you guys got my drift with that... Kudazi Kasambira has a different approach (at least what I heard on this disc). Sometimes, I'm reminded of a 'funkier' Andy Summers. The contrast between the 2 guitarists is startling... but it totally works. ...
And to differ somewhat about being "too Free", on a whole, Jauqo's recording settles into a groove... i.e. it's never really that noizy (like, say, Peter Brotzmann's Dare Devil). There are some bombastic moments, though.
So, I do recommend The Low C# Theory for those adventurous enough to try something different. It is a beautiful recording; everything is clear as a bell. For a "Free" & improvised venture, the pieces really flow (#3 may be my personal favourite) ... in other words, I'm not getting the kinda headache I seem to get after a Last Exit listening experience. Fact is, The Low C# Theory has grown on me with each listen.
Thanks, Jauqo! - JimK
