Customer Reviews

Force

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

 

 

Robert Stewart is one of the few people in jazz today who deserve the title of "genius". He can play in many differents styles, being fluent in swing, bop, post-bop, and even Middle Eastern music. Somehow, he manages to combine his influences into a coherent style that is uniquely his own. This is amazing for someone who just turned 30! The secret is that he is simply a soulful, deep musician, who has innate sense of swing and impeccable time. "The Force" is his most fully realized, personal album yet. It is informed by his spiritual views, but is accesible to anyone with an open mind and open ears.

Quite simply, this CD has become one of my top 4 or 5 favorite of all time - right up there with the best of Pharoah Sanders. Stewart has the same kind of broad, muscular tone as Sanders with the same intense spirituality. The compositions give him enough room for exploration without losing structure and the total production gives the listener room for exploration as well. A truly wonderful experience.

Some of the titles may mislead you into thinking this album is filled with low-key slow beat songs. Many of the songs are uptempo hard bop. Just the way I like it. His skills on the sax remind me a bit of Coltrane and even Pharoah Sanders. Not crazy about the fusion of the synthesizer and acoustic sounds on a couple of the songs such as "Sanctuary". But this is a definitely a keeper. I look forward to checking out his next album. Keep swingin.

This a truly great album! The rhythm section is really locked in -- Jeff "Tain" Watts and Reginald Veal sound amazing, and Ed Kelly is always a pleasure to listen to. Robert's tunes and solos tie everything together, making this great to listen to, and an essential to add to any jazz collection.

Robert Stewart is fresh, young and talented. "The Force" blends straightforward melodies with intriguing, imaginative evocations of the Middle East.

Robert Stewart's album " The Force", is a very soulful and articulate work
of Music. From what I understand, is that he is from the Oakland Ca area. Also, that he is a disciple of Pharoah Sanders. He plays tenor saxophone,
flute,and sythersizer on this outing. I first heard of him thru a Radio DJ
friend of mine on one of his airchecks. I jotted the info down, and found it here @ Amazon for a very good price. I think it's a contemporary update
of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra axis.