Arno Haas: Magic Hands

Could it get any funkier than this, any deeper into the groove? It's doubtful. Saxophonist Arno Haas has, with Magic Hands, crafted a sound that's as tight and danceable as anything that James Brown's Famous Flames conjured back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

"You Better Watch Out," a blast of fusion, opens the set with a slashing guitar, tight horn work, funky bass lines, all sweetened by a swirling organ breeze, with the leader slicing through the sound on a hot alto saxophone. "Leap of Faith" is more of the same. This is music meant for good times, for dancing.

Born and based in Germany, Haas traveled—at the suggestion of the set's producer and main keyboardist, Tom Saviano—to Los Angeles, home to so many of the great musicians, to record Haas' songs. The results are very American in mood—soulful and urban, with the precision and polish of the great Motown Records arrangements of the early 70s.

"Don't Doubt My Love" veers slightly from the soul groove, sounding more like a dreamy, pastoral tune from the songbook of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, with Haas on the soprano saxophone. The title tune rides a relaxed groove and gets the feet moving, and "Spin Cycle" kicks the fusion mood up a couple of notches, with Haas sounding tangy on the soprano horn.

These are rousing sounds that say it's time to party, time to pull on the dancing shoes.

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