Customer Reviews

Emphasizer

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

 

 

A few years back, drummer Stanton Moore teamed up with guitarist Charlie Hunter and saxophonist Sherik to record his first solo album, and the sessions resulted in both a solo album (All Kooked Out!) and a new band, Garage a Trois. Previously, their only release was a vinyl EP which no one I know has heard. So lucky for us who don't have functioning turntables, they recorded again and released it as a full length CD this time around, although they're no longer a threesome, as Mike Dillon, Sherik's multi-percusionist pal from Critters Buggin, has joined up with them.

I would've found this album worth my time if only to hear these particular musicians play, as they are a blessed bunch talentwise, but to my good fortune, I found this CD had more to offer musically than just an opportunity for four guys to demo their chops. Although earthy, loose funk-jazz is Garage a Trois' starting point (which they do very well), they don't limit themselves to just that. The latin grooves of "GAT Swamba" and "Plena for My Grundle," the asiatic marimba piece "House of Hand Wash," and the tribal percussion cadences and weird Middle Eastern melody of "Interpretive Ape Dance" demonstrate that this band has no intention of being an one trick pony. And although some tracks, in my opinion, could have been better -- the slick funk of "A-Frame" could be a bit dirtier, the electro-rock-blues of "Delta Skelta" a bit less conventional, and their rendition of Monk's lyrical "We See" less reverent -- nothing on this disc could be considered filler. Everything they do, they seem to strive to do well and in good taste. Probably as the result of these musicians' varied backgrounds and experience, the music throughout this CD maintains an impressive degree of creativity, adventure and energetic drive without losing cohesion or slipping into banality. Each musician gets his fair shot at the spotlight -- and each time, they step up quite willingly to make the most of it -- so the music has a good balance of each of their contributions.

More diverse than Moore's solo work, grittier than the Charlie Hunter Quartet, jazzier than Critters Buggin, and a lot meatier and juicier than most of the jazz releases I've heard this year so far, this ensemble shows a lot of potential to make music that's not quite like any of its members' previous work, even if it's just a side project for all of them. I, for one, certainly hope they will continue working together in the near future, because this CD isn't as predictable as one might suspect, and what's more, it's a lot of fun. Take a peek, and the music will wink back at you. Give it a minute more, and it'll flash a big, toothy grin. These guys have their fair share or more of talent, but thankfully, they don't let that get in their way of a good time.

. . . is that the lads'll try anything. The thing I don't like about it is that it's so dang hard to get it to play properly in my Windows Media Player. See, it's one of those enhanced discs, and it never seems to load without crashing my system. OK, I've probably got a dinosaur computer and a media player that's three generations old. But it's still annoying.

But it's all worth the effort. Garage a Trois is the future of jazz. Hip without being smug; multilingual sans carpetbagging; able to leap tall styles in a single bound. Proof: "Sprung Monkey." You're in Cumbia-land gone berserk, but it all makes sense. And the vibe continues unabated with "Plena for my Grundle" (great faux-Latinesque meaningless title with huge evocativeness). "A-Frame," the next cut, is pschedelic funk on uppers. Very groovy, and very scary. Charlie Hunter's wah-wah guitar scintillates. Indeed, Hunter stands tall throughout. He seems to have found the ideal context for his eight-string, bass/guitar hybrid. And Stanton Moore rules. The free-flowing vibe seems to enable him to unleash his most creative and percussive drumming. He's never sounded so good (check out his playing on "Get Swamba").

It's a mistake to think of this as a funk record, in my view. There're just too many other styles in play: garage, groove, psychedelic, free jazz, R&B, Latin, East Indian, lounge, Delta blues, gamelon, surf, to name just a few. What amazes is their ability to speak in all these cultural tongues with such glibness and spunk without sounding in the least stilted or inappropriately virtuostic: They're basically just having fun (albeit at a stratospheric level). And so will the listener.

This CD doesn't really represent what these guys do live, but it has some interesting moments. My complaint is at 42 minutes (plus CD-rom capabilities with video) it's much to short. These guys play 3hour shows with endless upbeat jams, and the tunes here are in the 3-4 minute range and more subdued.

Just as it is great advice for those looking to buy classic jazz to buy KINDA BLUE and then buy all the albums by the players on that album, and then the albums of all of the sidemen on those albums and so on and so on, it is equally good advice to buy this album and do the same. Emphasizer strikes me as a great representation of where modern groove jazz has come to, performed by some of the players most responsible for bringing it here. I think it is a milestone album for the genre and don't think any fan of the musicians involved will be disappointed.

The album does a good job of reflecting the wide variety of sounds at the live show. Charlie Hunter, Skerik, Stanton Moore, and Mike Dillon each contribute. The bass and guitar are in synch: it's actually one person as Charlie Hunter plays a combination guitar/bass on this album. Skerik brings lots of energy with his horn (which is black and made of metal) and some distorted voice improv. Stanton Moore does the usual terrific job on drums. Mike Dillon adds some great percussion into the mix.

There are two versions of the CD: one has the track listing indicated by Amazon, the other has Gat Swamba as the #2 track, Sprung Monkey as #6, and Interpretive Ape Dance as #8. If you hear big drums on track #8, you've got this other version of the CD.

Never heard of Charlie Hunter, or his band (or any of the members' previous bands), until seeing Garage A Trois live at Park West in Chicago. Not nowing what to expect, anticipating no specific sound, I found it to be one of the greatest musical experiences ever!!! Talent. Wow!!! Just the most diverse, original, and mind blowing performance I have probably ever seen. Costumes, too! It was all performed with matching Adidas, 80's style jogging suits! Ha Ha!
But, anyway, I bought 'Emphasizer' that night and have gotten a lot of use/enjoyment out of it! Even included a few tracks at my wedding reception!

I have enjoyed the music of Charlie Hunter, especially "Right Now Move", but I'm afraid this one is a bit over my head. The lack of structure and "noodling" quality of the solos is irritating enough on first listening that this CD will probably never see number 2. I'm a fairly polytonal kind of guy, an old fan of Capt. Beefheart and Zappa, but this was just grating.

I picked this up after hearing one song on XM radio. I'm happy I did! Very hip, fun to drive, party and lounge to. A little slow and a little repetitive in parts so no 5 stars, but hey, the rest is really great.

The videos to play on your CD-ROM are pretty worthless but the links are cool.

It's music you can't feel bad while listening to... and that's a good thing.