Noel Langley

John Zorn & The Spike Orchestra - Cerberus: Book Of Angels, Volume 26 (2015) {Tzadik TZ 8338}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 400 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 135 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Tzadik | TZ 8338 | Tzadik Archival Series
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Klezmer / Modern Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

This is the Big Band Masada project you’ve been waiting for. Led by composers Sam Eastmond and Nikki Franklin, The SPIKE Orchestra is a large ensemble that draws on a wide range of influences including Duke Ellington, Frank Zappa, Carl Stalling, Zorn and more. Melding jazz, rock, klezmer, cartoon and the avant-garde into a compelling and cohesive vision, this new Angels installment is one of the most imaginative and manic masterpieces in the whole series. An outrageous and explosive swinger that will thrill even the most hardened skeptic. Essential.

By the time the Brand New Heavies released Shelter in 1997, urban R&B was shifting toward the more organic grooves that they helped pioneer in the early '90s. Although the Heavies were into acid jazz as well, they smoothed over many of the experimental elements of their music in the mid-'90s, leaving behind a seductive, earthy, and jazzy variation of urban soul. That provided the foundation for Shelter, their first album featuring Siedah Garrett as lead singer. Garrett's smooth voice helps push the band toward more conventional territory, yet their songwriting is stronger than most of the contemporaries, and their sound is funkier and more convincing. While there are no standout singles on Shelter, it's a uniformly engaging listen, illustrating that the Brand New Heavies are one of the great underrated urban R&B bands of the '90s.