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Artifacts: Tomeka Reid, Nicole Mitchell, Mike Reed: …and then there’s this
If we were limited to a one word description here, it would be "groove." The trio set their sights on motivating the booty as well as the mind. Credit Reed's drumming which can be heard in his ensemble Mike Reed's People, Places & Things and in collaborations with Roscoe Mitchell, Rob Mazurek, and Jason Adasiewicz. He has the ability to pilot a composition such as Reid's "In Response To" with compact gestures which blossom each track into a grand statement. This groove informs composed music and even the improvised "A.F." (for drummer Alvin Fielder) which could easily be identified as a Sun Ra interlude. Mitchell opens with a digeerido-sounding flute, the plucked notes of Reid, and the 'ting-ting' of percussion adding to the procession. Reid's cello often sounds like that of bassist Oscar Pettiford, who swapped his bass for a cello. She lays down a most expressive bottom on "Blessed" and "Reflections," then draws from the ethereal with her bowed cello "Reflections." Their cover of Muhal Richard Abrams' "Soprano Song" opens with a mechanized Raymond Scott-like approach, then spouts into a funky groove. They give us a glorious and meditative "J.J." (for Joseph Jarman) and a reggae take on Roscoe Mitchell's "No Side Effects." This is music for the ears which also rocks the behind.
Track Listing
Pleasure Palace; A.F.; Blessed; In Response To; Reflections; Song For Helena; Soprano Song; J.J.; No Side Effects.
Personnel
Album information
Title: …and then there’s this | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Astral Spirits
About Tomeka Reid
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