Customer Reviews

Facing Left

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

 

 

i was amazed upon hearing Soundtrack to Human Motion, Jason Moran's first recording as a leader. It showed his individualistic style, his great composition skills and his all around wonderful musicianship. and Facing Left is more of the same. although only a trio album, it has power. Moran on piano, Fender Rhodes, and Hammond b3, Tarus Mateen on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums create amazing textures and colors on these six Moran pieces and seven interpratations. The two Ellington pieces smoke. Moran mixes bits of the avant garde with classic jazz. he realizes that his elders in jazz are very important. but he also realizes that he can not tread in their foot steps. he quickly runs past them. the album is great, buy it and support a true artist pushing the limits of jazz.

with "facing left," mr. moran gives us the most exciting piano trio album of the year. variety is the theme here, as mr. moran explores many of the different artists that have shaped his own style, which is becoming powerful in its own right. the range here is from ellington swing ('later') to jarrett exploration ('joga'-- interesting because it is a bjork tune)to tastes of the avant garde ('three of the same...'). mr. moran is a melodic player who creates colorful soundscapes playing with rhythm and harmony in much the same way a poet plays with words. the trio setting allows us to really get to hear and appreciate mr. moran's talent. his support in tarus mateen on bass and nasheet watts on drums is superb. i hope this trio stays together for a long time. if you are interested in jazz that thinks and swings at the same time, this album is worth every penny.

If you're looking for smooth jazz, you are COMPLETELY in the wrong place. Even when this guy is playing ballads, he's rough, and I dig it. I'm a big fan of young, contemporary-minded cats who write their own stuff; who play traditional jazz through their own eyes, and aren't trying to simply out-Coltrane John Coltrane. Alongside Stefon Harris, Greg Osby and others of their ilk, Moran is giving you the jazz that Thelonius Monk would have if he had played Playstation, watched cartoons and ate gyros on a Saturday night with his boys while watching a basketball game.

Not that there isn't some hardcore history note-taking taking place here: there's MAD Herbie Hancock (circa 1970) influence here, and a wallopingly profound realization of a Bjork song(!). Those guys at Blue Note are doing something special over there with Moran, Osby and Stefon Harris (and their supergroup offering, "New Directions"), and we'd do well to support it. It's either that or watch them fade off into obscurity for genuinely pushing a much-needing-to-be-moved envelope. It's not for the faint of heart; some of the funk is hard to keep up with if you aren't into hardcore traditional jazz already. But if you dig Stefon Harris, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Steve Coleman or Miles Davis fusion (70s) stuff, give it a whirl. It's pretty strong tonic. In fact, it's Medeski Marrtin Wood with an actual, obvious groove.

Jason Moran's been getting a lot of good press lately, especially from the NY Times' Ben Ratliff. I've found him an interesting & sympathetic figure--a young player who eschews the boring mainstream brew of Evans, Hancock et al which most young jazz pianists purvey, for a style predicated upon the more experimental areas of the Blue Note catalogue in its heyday (Andrew Hill, Jaki Byard & Herbie Nichols seem to be important influences, along with Ellington & Monk). But he's yet to deliver a fully satisfying disc, though his third disc, _Black Stars_, is surely his best yet, & his debut, _Soundtrack to Human Motion_, is also quite intriguing. _Facing Left_, his trio album, is surely his weakest effort, in which a bunch of interesting ingredients--his striking piano style, a good band, an eclectic mix of influences from pop song, film music & urban grooves--never really adds up. He dots the album with a little electric keyboard & organ but basically it's a straight piano trio; most tracks are very brief (2-5 minutes) & seem more like jumble sales of good ideas than convincing performances. "Twelve", a nice blues, turns out well, & is basically pinched from Moran's teacher Jaki Byard (compare the chords Moran uses once the solo gets going to Byard's blues "Mrs Parker of KC" on Dolphy & Little's _Far Cry_). "Wig Wise" actually suggests Herbie Nichols more than Ellington. Really, none of the tracks here is without interest, but they often impress without striking much deeper. Consider this disc as a small manifesto for the young player, & wait for him to really put out the masterpiece he surely has in him; meanwhile, check out his other two discs rather than this one. I look forward to his forthcoming solo CD.

"Black Stars" is really good too, but this one really has it from start to finish. I don't like it when Taurus Mateen starts playing electric bass on the more recent albums. I saw them live and the electric bass was much louder than the piano!!! Yuck.

But this is really, really interesting playing by all three members. I think Nasheet Waits is one of the best younger drummers. He has his own style, coming out of free playing but with some Jack DeJohnette in there too. He, Jason, and Mateen seem to play the beat real rubbery--not evenly. It shouldn't work but I like it.

Good idea to play a Bjork cover--a boon to get your girlfriend into the CD (she remains partial to "The Bad Plus," of course.)

This is my favorite jazz CD. I have over 100 jazz CDs, most of which are jazz piano, and Facing Left has vaulted to the top of the heap. Jason Moran's trio (The Bandwagon) present a remarkably eclectic, thoroughly engaging 57 minutes of music. Moran's playing is incredibly creative. I can't do it justice, except to say that it is different from any other jazz piano CD I have (lots of Jacky Terrasson, Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Cyrus Chestnut, among others). Anyone who can cover obscure Ellington ("Later," "Wig Wise"), a Bjork tune ("Joga"), a song from The Godfather: Part 2 ("Murder of Don Fanucci"), and a song from a Kurazawa film ("Yojimbo") along with writing great stuff himself ("Thief Without Loot", "Fragment of a Necklace," "Gangsterism on Wood," among others) all on the same CD is cool with me! In addition, Tarus Mateen and Nasheet Waits smoke on drums and bass, respectively. Great, great CD! (I dig the cover art, as well).

Rare is new jazz that sounds fresh, with a plastic quality that suggests that the music's creative possiblities are not exhausted. Jason Moran delivers the goods, but the trip isn't easy. The sound is well-centered, but "facing left" as it does, it's as challenging to the listener as to the musicians who are playing it. Brad Mehldau and Moran are about the only new piano faces who give me hope that jazz isn't just a museum piece.

I attended the concert that Jason Moran Greg Osby and Joe Lovano held at Umbria Jazz Winter in December 2000.

Even if I'm not a big fan of Jazz, I _had_ to buy this CD, and now I'm listening to it every weekend.

Joga and Murder of Don Fanucci are among the tracks I like more.

This is my favorite Jason Moran album.The Musicianship from all three players; Jason, Tarus Mateen(Bass) and Nasheet Waits(Drums) is incredible for such young musicians. This is surely NOT his weakest effort,as said by another reviewer.This is his Strongest effort in my opinion. Jason keeps getting better and more creative with each release. There is no such thing as; this should sound like this;and this should sound like that;this song dosen't work etc.... True originality and creativity is to expect the unexpected, and that's what Jason Moran does and hopefully will continue to do for many years to come.