Customer Reviews

Earthspeaker

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

 

 

Barret Martin has done it again! After experiencing "The Painted Desert", I hardly expected that the second CD could keep up and maintain the groove. Well, he did it! Earthspeaker is another jazz-o-matic experience into the altered state of global fusion. "Earthspeaker" combines past and present with cultural motifs set upon silky smooth surface. "Earthspeaker" is natural jazz with no contrivance. "Earthspeker" is jazz transcending the borders of time and culture. "The Painted Desert", and "Earthspeaker" are the kinds of CD's that find play under many conditions. Cleaning the house on a rainy day, a romantic dinner or cruising a desert stretch in Nevada, wherever you're going, "Earthspeaker" will take you there.

Martin's followup to The Painted Desert sets the musical bar even higher: can he equal or surpass the excellence of his first album?

Unquestionably. Listen to the bridge of _El Barrio_: Martin is not afraid to move from an angular, sparse feel to gorgeous flowing melody, falling back to give the bass and trumpet space to spread out and sing. The chimes open the space as wide as the sky.

Part of the fun of Martin's album's is trying to s[pt what all the unique persussion instruments are -- and it's difficult! He puts together unlikely tonal combinations that work so well you don't even question their rightness. It's only after listening closely that you realize that the "melodic" instruments are actually playing in several different scales, interlocking so beautifully that they seem like an obvious combination. Quite an achievement. More importantly, what could have been an exercise in "look how many instrumentsI can play" becomes a lucky chance to hear a subtle and refined artist whose respect for the other players and whose goal of making unique music that can speak to anyone. I feel very lucky to have been able to hear his music.

As a musician myself, I can hear the sheer fun the musicians all had doing this CD. Bring that joy home for yourself: buy this CD.

The music on Earthspeaker deserves four stars. But I have to take away two stars because of the inane liner notes. In the liner notes, Barrett claims to believe that Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were all prophets. This type of statement is usually made by people who are lashing out against Christianity. (Putting Jesus on the same level with Moses and Muhammad is a transparent jab at Christianity.)
In the liner notes, Barrett also says that Israel is some kind of holy land. This means that Barrett has probably been brainwashed by Zionist propaganda.
He probably also believes that Muslim extremists carried out 9-11 (even though there is no real evidence to support such a theory).

In fairness, Barrett Martin grew up in the foothills of the Tumwater Brewery. This could explain why he is susceptible to being brainwashed.