by Rick Landers
The jazz fusion masters of Garaj Mahal are at it again with a superb new CD, More Mr. Nice Guy, that swooped in almost under the radar a mere 18 months after the release of their 2008 CD wOOt. The line up continues with Kai Eckhardt (bass), Fareed Haque (guitars) and Eric Levy (keyboards), but with Sean Rickman taking command on drums and offering up his talents with the songwriting and on vocals.
Garaj Mahal is known for blending innovative jazz with some hard hitting funk. But, the group never leaves listeners in long rhythmic or monotonous ruts. GM grabs a diverse array of musical territory from all over the world and injects enough surprise to keep listeners glued to their tracks.
“Witch Doctor” borrows heavily from Eastern mysticism before some hard driving African-like rhythms push the piece forward in a trance of dark funk. The track begs us to dance and shake about, all while the tune’s magic moves about like a snake, charming us while disarming us. Rickman traps us from the start with his percussive sorcery, while the crew pumps up “Witch Doctor” with asymmetric voodoo melodies.
Next up is “Faster Than the Speed of Time”. Again Rickman takes charge while the other guys spin about before derailing into a haunting jazz push that’s both turgid and free form. The tune spurts along with a light percussive tapping and Fareed Haque swinging, while bassman Kai Eckhardt holds the piece together in traditional jazz form. A seque that features keyboardist, Eric Levy, is a short retreat that highlights his ivory key talents. Eckhardt’s bass backs into the tune giving it a foundation for moving forward as a jazz piece with enough melodic jazz traffic from all members to drive the piece home.
“The Long Form” is heavy metal jazz. Give these guys a bit of leash and Garaj Mahal begins to crank out riffs reminiscent of the best of Hendrix and The Experience or some of the heavier blues pieces of Zeppelin. “The Long Form” pulls out some stops to give a weighted nod to the ballsy blues rock of the early ‘70s. If you like your jazz heavy and ground in gritty bass lines, you’ll dig this track.
“Today” is a funk-pop vocal that’s as much Stevie Wonder as it is Donald Fagen in its hip swagger. It’s a hipster stroll that’s upbeat and reelin’ and rockin’. “Today” romps enough to let the group stretch between those tracks that demand more technical focus….allowing Garaj Mahal to lay back and have a bit of Top 40 sunny style fun.
Garaj Mahal digs a bit deeper with “Frankly Frankie Ford”, a cut that showcases all of the group’s talents, along with a bit of banjo and genuflects to the “New Orleans Dynamo”.
“Tachyonics” is pure cool jazz. It’s a shape shifting track that moves along a path with multiple melodic definitions, never quite locking down to singularity. It’s as much a journey as any jazz foray and is best listened to with an open, if not roaming mind.
“What My Friends Say” is another vocal that has the same feel as the other vocal track as far as style, but there’s no solid hook to the piece. And the banal lyrics are essentially “throw aways” without any strong creative appeal or surprises. Not sure what the group was thinking with this one, but it doesn’t work or rise to the occasion, as the other tracks do on this otherwise very solid album.
Jazz aficionados will probably enjoy “Chester the Pester”, not only for the form-fit jazz that suits jazz fans who like to turn down the lights, grab a glass of wine and chill. The piece is a shade over 10 minutes long, allowing one to get into the movement of the piece or drift along passively and let the music carry them to more private places. The superb talents of Garaj Majal at their best.
“Alison’s Pony” draws us in poetically, with a cadence that’s tentative, if not hesitant. Levy’s piano yearns to hold us close for a moment, for a lifetime….in harmony. Garaj Mahal masters the piece with spot on rhythms, playful guitar and up front bass work. And although in places, the piano seems to lose its centrality to the piece, it retains its fulcrum throughout…fading and emerging at will until it firmly takes hold of the piece at the end. This will certainly become a favorite of many fans of good jazz.
Garaj Mahal is one of those prolific groups that keeps cranking out great albums. More Mr. Nice Guy is another highlight of their on-going legacy. The group always seems ready to jump into uncharted territories to open up new musical vistas for us to hear. As they discover and explore world music and blend it with traditional and improvisational jazz, we can all anticipate new albums and great music from this fine ensemble.
Garaj Mahal – “Witch Doctor”
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