Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Musillami Octet: Spirits

202

Michael Musillami Octet: Spirits

By

View read count
Michael Musillami Octet: Spirits
The Michael Musillami Octet shines throughout this tribute to the late multi-instrumentalist and composer Thomas Chapin. The talented ensemble—Musillami on guitar, Peter Madsen on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, Tom Christensen on saxophones and flutes, Art Baron on trombone and didgeridoo, Tom Beckham on vibes and marimba, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion, and Michael Sarin on drums—brings seven Chapin compositions to life with verve and good taste. Inspired in part by Brazilian composers/musicians Pixinguinha and Hermeto Pasqual, Chapin's songs are a delight: the tunes are fresh and graceful, infused with a sweet enthusiasm. The octet creates a spacious, multi-layered sound that's always appealing and never overcrowded.

The tour de force is the fifteen-minute "Spirits Rebellious," arranged by Ellington alum Art Baron. The song starts off slow and shimmery, with formidable front line work by Baron and Christensen as the rhythm section cooks steadily. Musillami then breaks into an extended Hendrix-like solo, punctuated by a panoply of mysterious sounds, cries and whooshes, and subliminal vocalizations from the rich array of instruments. After piano and drum solos, the spirits have been soothed and the melody returns, but with hints of future rebellions to come. Also excellent is "Namibian Sunset," a warm, uplifting song with an unabashedly pretty melody, as well as "Squid Fantasy," which features an assertive horn line and rich layers of percussion.

For an eight-piece band composed of powerful, first-rate musicians, the octet manages to play quite gently, bringing the beauty of Chapin's songs to full flower.

Track Listing

1. Squid Fantasy 2. Star 3. Nambian Sunset 4. Goody 5. Spirits Rebellious 6. Circles 7. The Walking Wounded

Personnel

Michael Musillami- guitar, altered guitar; Peter Madsen- piano; Cameron Brown- bass; Tom Christensen- tenor sax, alto sax, alto flute, english horn, wood flute; Art Baron- trombone, bass recorder, didgeridoo; Tom Beckham- vibes, marimba; Satoshi Takeishi- percussion; Michael Sarin- drums;

Album information

Title: Spirits | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Playscape Recordings

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.

Near

More

The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante
All In Motion
Dave Redmond
Cat & The Hounds
Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine...

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.