Michael Blake - Drift (2000)
XLD Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue, log) ~ 338.55 Mb | 58:20 | Covers
Modern Creative, Post-Bop | Label: Intuition Records - INT 3213 2
Saxophonist Michael Blake makes raw and playful yet elegant music. He has no allegiance to "jazz" per se, although there are pronounced elements of Ellington and Mingus on some of these tracks. Blake's home is clearly the avant-garde, but he freely borrows from rock, Afro-beat, and sounds from the American heartland (the rural scenery on the cover is fitting). Tony Scherr's dry electric guitar is one of the central sonic elements, as is the interplay between Blake and his fellow saxophonists Briggan Krauss and Peck Allmond. Frank Kimbrough plays Rhodes – a rarity – on the opening title track, and Marcus Rojas' tuba seems to emulate a turntable on the rambunctious "Teo Walks," a track on which slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein also appears.