Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marc Cary: Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1

148

Marc Cary: Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1

By

Sign in to view read count
Marc Cary: Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1
Jazz pianist Marc Cary pays a bit of homage to the electric piano that Harold Rhodes started developing way back in the mid-forties as Leo Fender subsequently bought the rights and appended his last name to an instrument that is cherished by many a keyboardist. With Rhodes Ahead, Vol 1 Cary performs on the rhodes, and the now ancient yet still delectable (analog) moog synthesizer, while the end results prove to be somewhat of a mixed bag at best.

The opener, a composition titled “Rhodes Ahead Intro” features groove beats and Cary’s airy chord progressions performed on the rhodes, yet his dissonant lines and tinny sounding moog EFX/soloing seems a bit superfluous or to some extent, pointless. On “Treasure Part 1” Cary provides the textures yet electric bassist Tarus Mateen turns in some fluid lines to an otherwise forgettable theme while “Inside Your Self (You’ll Find Love)” boasts a straight-four pulse and affable jungle-beat rhythms. At this juncture some of the material and concepts sound dated yet “Take Me Higher” is a hearty spin on that 70’s vibe made famous by Herbie Hancock as Cary’s dreamy and enticingly melodic statements along with a lazy funk-style backbeat hits the mark. The final track titled “Turning” boasts a breezy, ambient motif marked by Cary’s emphatic and well-placed notes. Yet at this point it may have been too little, too late

Throughout, Cary displays a sincere appreciation for this time-honored instrument while many of these pieces are nothing more than fragmented themes stitched together as we hope that this highly regarded jazz pianist comes up with a little more – compositional – substance on Vol. 2 of this series.

* * ½ (out of * * * * *)

Personnel

Marc Cary
piano

Marc Cary; rhodes, roque moog, mini moog, drums, drum programming & percussion: Tarus Mateen; electric bass, vocals & drum programming on track 5: Yarbrough Charles Laws; flute on track 9 and drum programming on track 11: Terreon Gully; drums on tracks 3,4 & 7: Shariff Simmons; vocals track 8: Penny Williams; vocals track 10: Dana Murray; drum programming track 8: Roy Hargrove; background vocals on track 5.

Jazzateria web: www.jazzateria.com

Album information

Title: Rhodes Ahead Vol. 1 | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Jazzateria

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.