Customer Reviews

Bar Talk

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow, this is just great stuff. Tain smokes on this CD, along with a gang of unbelievable players like Branford, Mike Brecker, Joey Calderazzo, Ravi Coltrane, and more. The songs are just burning, with mind-bending solos from all of the folks mentioned above. The tune with Branford and Brecker on the same track is just flat-out scary. These guys are monsters. Any sax player who hears it will want to put his own horn away forever. Way to go, Tain!!! Terrific job!!!

Quite simply this was the best jazz CD of last year and one of the best of ANY year. It is tuneful, varied, brilliantly played and pretty hip in terms of its stylistic approach. I've had it for almost a year and I still play it to death. When you consider some of the unlistenable [stuff] that gets foisted on the long sufferring jazz public by the critics (is it any wonder that jazz sales are in decline?) this CD came as a breath if not a rush of fresh air. One can only hope that Sony keep Tain on the books and keep allowing him to put out CD's like this one. Miss it at your peril.

I'm listening to the song "Kiss" from this album right now via KCSM radio in the Bay Area, piped into my apartment via digital cable on the boob tube. That's something I wouldn't have written when the disc came out five or six years ago, but the excellent music here, particularly Joey Calderazzo's dancing piano, stands the test of time.

Watts, of course, glides along on drums as effortlessly but commandingly as any drummer of the day. The sax tones of Ravi and Brecker soar to inspiring heights.

It all comes together so fluidly, it reminds me of so much unheralded jazz I heard a few years ago and wondered, why do these guys bother playing such music from the heart for no financial reward? The titans still roam the music world, but they don't get paid nothing near what they deserve.

And yet, I guess the thrill of writing and playing is too irresistable a siren call to ignore, so they go smashing their elegant sounds against the godless reef of the record/download/whatever industry. Siva bless you, thanks for the tickling of soul and ears with your gorgeous sonic splendor.

Great CD very complete. Showcases Watts genius. This album also doubles as a Brandford Marsalis album so to speak. Great chemistry front to back.

You can't go wrong with this album. I was a little disappointed with "Citizen Tain" but this was a big surprise for me!! What a come back! I swear to God this guy is the most powerful drummer of all time, he swings, he can be soft, he can groove, he can be a total animal, but always in the zone and staying true to the music. I agree with the first reviewer of this album, track 4 just hit me and I almost sh#$t a brick!! You will never hear two tenor giants go head to head like that on any other album.

The same goes for the rest of the album. Tain knows how serve his listeners--you want something at burning speed, you want a laid back groove, a beautiful ballad, all styles...TAIN IS THE MAN!!
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity--grab this album and you will be more than satisfied.

A clearout sale at a local store gave me the excuse to experiment a little, and it's been nothing but one blessing after another. A mysterious Lee Ritenour collection, Joshua Redman's last disc, Martin Medeski and Wood, and now Jeff 'Tain' Watts, who has blown my hair back to say the least.

Absolutely no self-respecting jazz lover should have a space in their collection where this disc belongs, if only for the (now legendary) Brecker/Marsalis solo which hits you like a bath of ice cold water. I'll tell you, the hairs on my arm haven't lain back down yet.

Paul Bollenbeack on the guitar is a real find for me too, reminding me a lot of John Scofield in that strange, nagging "Here I am, don't forget about me" to his strings, particularly on the often spacey opening track 'JC is the man'- Bollenback's contribution is gentle enough to sit on the edge of your consciousness and just powerful enough to spice the mix without burning your lips.

'Side B' is the star of the show for me, but then I just love Hiram Bullocks nasty edge, real sleazy, like a down and out hooker with torn nylons and smeared mascara who's just walked into the bar where the guys are playing.

Wait no longer, pick this up at any price (you don't have to wait for a clear out, believe me) !

I always have been skeptical regarding the classifications with points or stars. I Always think that "I have to see it, hear it or feel it". However, after listening "Bar Talk", I believe that it is a job of five stars itself: may be someone would be able to deny this?
Watts, a master of the drums (something undoubtedly shown in this job), always creates, along with the bassist, a solid rhythm section that enhance the spectacular solos of Michael Brecker, Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo, among others.
Pay close attention to the amazing three solos on track four: Calderazzo-Marsalis-Brecker....simply incredible!....kind of stufff!.....wow!