THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060027
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Album Reviews
LENGTH: 92 lines
Ginger Baker Trio, ``Falling Off the Roof'' (Atlantic)
Baker, a certified rock 'n' roll monster, reunites with two jazz studs in this rewarding follow-up to 1994's ``Going Back Home.''
It's irresistibly weird to hear the former Cream drummer play jazz with guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Charlie Haden. Together they forge a steely jazz-rock sound while mining a rich lode of tunes ranging from bop to blues, Caribbean to country.
Baker attacks Thelonious Monk's ``Bemsha Swing'' as if he were jamming with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce at the Fillmore, yet his overplaying is oddly apt. On Frisell's island-flavored ``Amarillo Barbados,'' perhaps the best cut, Baker reaches a sublimely exaggerated pitch. But he's not without jazz chops: Check out his cross-rhythms on ``Vino Vecchio'' and the mysterioso title track (both of which he wrote).
On guitar, Frisell is the melodic source, stamping out electric sheets of notes that recall Chet Baker one minute, Chet Atkins the next. He also gets an acoustic workout on Haden's ``Our Spanish Love Song.'' On bass, Haden provides an understated, pure jazz feel. Sitting in are banjoist extraordinaire Bela Fleck and guitar whiz Jerry Hahn.
Yet the success of this record is defined not by the virtuosity of the players but by the strength of the compositions and the freshness of the sound.
Jazzers for years have wondered how to recruit pop listeners. This bridge-building album has as good a chance as any I've heard.
David Simpson, The Pilot
Jimmy Scott, ``Heaven'' (Warner Bros.)
Simply haunting. ``Heaven'' is one of the most enigmatic jazz releases of recent years.
Scott was a big band balladeer in the '30s and '40s. His unique vocals, a high, almost womanly voice caused by a medical disorder in his youth, were show-stoppers. During his early performing years, he suffered enough heartaches to flesh out a year's worth of soap operas.
Now in his 70s, he returned to the studio to release the excellent ``Dream'' and ``All the Way.'' But ``Heaven'' is his tour-de-force.
On this loose concept recording, he confronts the idea of longing for heaven, mining traditional spirituals and everyone from Bob Dylan to Curtis Mayfield.
He is expertly backed by young European jazz sensation Jacky Terrasson, whose cool piano playing evokes Bartok and Monk. While Scott works his unnerving soprano, Terrasson and his crack rhythm section frame each opus in a minimalist, impressionistic vein.
Eric Feber, The Pilot
Blues
The Holmes Brothers, ``Promised Land'' (Rounder)
Familiarity does not breed contempt. On the Holmes Brothers' fourth Rounder release, they again baste driving R&B and soulful struts with the Southern gospel of their Eastern Shore roots. Those who have followed the trio will take to the chug-a-chug title track, the velvety ``Start Stoppin' '' and the instant classic ``There's a Train,'' created at the corner of Al and Green.
No surprise either that the main draw is their wonderful vocals: Wendell Holmes' gruff shout, brother Sherman's tough baritone and Popsy Dixon's gorgeous falsetto. (His urgent cover of Tom Waits' ``Train Song'' guarantees goosebumps.) Everyone is well-served by the economic arrangements.
And when they harmonize . . . well, believing in the ``Promised Land'' is easy.
Craig Shapiro, The Pilot
Rock/Pop
Jimmy Webb, ``Ten Easy Pieces'' (Guardian Records)
Some recordings are not made in anticipation of huge sales, but instead for the significance of creating a keepsake.
As part of Guardian's Songwriters Series, Jimmy Webb has for the first time recorded 10 of his finest pieces. For entertainers like Glen Campbell and Elvis Presley, who rarely if ever wrote their own music, a songwriter like Webb is essential to their careers.
Keeping things simple playing piano, with occasional violin, guitar or vocal harmony accompaniment, Webb brings new dimensions to such classics as ``Wichita Lineman,'' ``Galveston'' and ``MacArthur Park.'' For those who remember these tunes, ``Ten Easy Pieces'' is worth a listen if for no other reason that they are performed by the composer himself.
Jeff Maisey, The Pilot ILLUSTRATION: Photo
REALWORLD
The Holmes Brothers baste driving R&B and soulful struts with the
Southern gospel of their Eastern Shore roots on ``Promised Land.''
SOUNDBITES
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