Aka Moon w/ D. J. Grazzhoppa & David Gilmore - Ancienne, Belgique 11/25/02
And in the instant pantswetting category comes this collaboration between the great Belgian jazz trio, D.J. and guitar, 45 minutes of grooving and jamming. Straight up Grazzhoppa’s got your attention, the variety of sounds and spins he whips out accentuate the music fantastically, the merging of this style with some really great bass playing gives both the feel and the atmosphere for sax and guitar to play over. It doesn’t even feel like a jazz session so much, which I’m sure is precisely to fit the turntablist in, but with the jazz pedigree of the soloists it’s a real treat and it all sounds fabulous. There’s Aka Moon for you, 2 in 6 might be kinda boring, and the other 3 in 6 definitely good, but the remaining 1 is always a powerhouse. And always when the trio works with other musicians. Amazing!
Andre Ceccarelli - Ceccarelli
Andre Ceccarelli - s/t
On the first of these titles, the reviewer is handed the key to the album with the second song title ”I am a Skunk.” It’s honestly hard for me to go much further without turning into a rant about the things which I find anathema in the worst of funky jazz fusion, the tacky vocals, all the silly technical tricks by various instrumentalists and a bland whitewashed production. This is getting to offensive levels musically and when you start getting down to these grades, and I gave this a 4 years ago and find it perfect still, you’re getting down to levels of things you don’t normally listen to and wouldn’t have time for if it wasn’t for some sort of askew recommendation.
The second album does seem to eradicate some of the more heinous vocal issues, but leaving it as a perfectly bland funky fusion doesn’t do it much favors. Like many of the more bland exponents of 70s fusion, this isn’t too far off from some of the most palatable Weather Report music, except they always remain somewhat untouchable and the feeling is that nothing is added to the genre. It’s a pity because on both of these albums there’s some strong musicianship, even names you might know, but it all seems affected with the most whitebred virus imaginable.