Customer Reviews

Exotic Places

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

 

 

NEW BEGINNINGS is where this CD got the BREATH of FRESH AIR review. The tunes compliment each members talent:

Ron Kobayashi exhibits his talent on keyboards electronically as well as highlighting it on the acoustic piano. His love for the music is displayed not only in the unique and inspiring rendition of Sting's Walking on the Moon, but in his originals as well. Remembrance is very enjoyable melodically.

Baba Elefante utilizes the fretted, and fretless bass to convey his awesome technique and talent to critical ears as well as the recreational listener. Baba plays with an energy that the trio runs with. His talent is displayed in the ballads as well as the funky rhythm of Crawfish Hygiene and Funk the Monk... Got to check these out!

Steve Dixon's rhythmic flexibility keeps the group tight (when it's called for, like on JAGG) and ... let's RON and BABA GO, when required, like Exotic places. Steve's consistent & unpredictable style, mixes well and make's the trio complete.

The Trio on Exotic places displays a wide range of talent from Ballad, to Jazz, to Funk. This CD is a MUST HAVE item. Hearing them live is a musical event everyone needs to experience too!

I've seen this band play 50 times at least and it's the live aspect that gives jazz that essence that draws people to dark bars filled with smoke . This album doesn't have that. It's got a band that plays live in the studio recording songs that end up lasting more than ten minutes once the solos are finished. That was why at first I was a bit disappointed with the album. I knew it wasn't all that there was to them but then I kept listening. It's a great album. The bass, an instrument that is so difficult to hear clearly on almost any recording (except early Zeppelin), is an equal third to the output of the music. Standouts include the title track "Exotic Places" which uses a strange key and actually sounds like a party in an Arabian Opium Den, if things like that ever existed. Another song is "Jagg", one that exemplifies funkiness to its jazziest grit without leaving the listener standing on the wrong foot wondering where the song. There are two covers on the album, Sting's "Walking on the Moon" and Clapton's "Change the World" and both are very good, especially the Sting song. It sounds like they recorded it at 2 in the morning, slow and withdrawn but somehow that's what sucks you in. It is a great jazz record. It's not Coltrane, it's not contemporary but somewhere it lies in the middle, clinging to both. It's worth the money and you'll enjoy it once you realize that this is not a rock band doing their best, it's a jazz band constrained by the epic nature of a recording.

This gifted trio consisting of Ron Kobayashi, one the most fluid and talented keyboardist around, and bassist Baba Elefante bringing a color and sound to bass playing totally unsurpassed, and rhythmically speaking, drummer Steve Dixon is the best. Original compositions by Ron and Baba are sparkling and exciting.