Jazz Articles about Melvin Gibbs

Melvin Gibbs' Elevated Entity: Ancients Speak

by Chris M. Slawecki
June 13, 2009

Bassist/composer/producer Melvin Gibbs is best-known among jazz fans for his run with the Ronald Shannon Jackson Decoding Society and among rock fans as bassist for what most devotees consider the best version of The Henry Rollins Band. Now leading his own band, Gibbs explores “the Black Atlantic continuum" that runs from Harlem and NYC in North America through the American south, down through the Caribbean and into Brazil, on Ancients Speak. “It's the randomness of the explosive situation, how this ...

Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity: Ancients Speak

by Glenn Astarita
April 15, 2009

Bassist Melvin Gibbs is a multi-talented and pivotal figure on New York City's downtown scene. On Ancients Speak, co-produced by renegade guitarist and experimental composer Arto Lindsay, Gibbs mixes a potpourri of African vocals, hip hop, Latin grooves, rap, and tribal chants, along with divergent stylizations that transform into a distinct entity.

Ancients Speak helps launch a new label, LiveWired Music, with a curious polytonal gumbo--yet Gibbs remains a merchant of good cheer throughout, providing a fluid undercurrent ...