Jump for George

Imaginary Homeland | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jumbie Records
• ASIN: B0000E6GQ1
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,146 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Kanawha Girl

2. Anthem

3. Mobius Trip

4. Jump for George

5. Travelogue

6. El Sonero

7. The World is Not Your Home

Editorial Reviews

Piotr Michalowski, Ann Arbor Observer, January 2000

Combines the best of contemporary jazz with West African instruments and rhythms... makes you want to get up and dance!

Product Description

A soulful blend of African fiddle, talking drums, and jazz. Imaginary Homeland weaves lyrical melodies and percussive grooves into a potent blend of African and American traditions.

Jazz composer David Rogers left his Missouri roots and his music conservatory training in the States to spend two years living in the home of master drummers in rural Ghana. Living in a thatch hut through dust storms and rain seasons, he studied the native drum language and history of the talking drum.

When he returned, he formed Imaginary Homeland with three other American musicians whose combined experience stretches from Ghana and Uganda to the hills of West Virginia and downtown New York. Marlene Rice's soaring violin and Matt Pavolka's acoustic bass find the string sound in each of these traditions, while percussionist Mark Stone drives the rhythm.

In their new CD, JUMP FOR GEORGE, Imaginary Homeland finds vivid connections between these and nearer American musical roots. The results will delight music lovers looking for a fresh sound rooted in the traditions of both Africa and the Americas.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New worlds of world music, July 28, 2004

By 

K. J. Vrotsos - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jump for George (Audio CD)

Okay, I confess I've been put off by some new "world music" recordings that are derivative or over-produced -- too flavor-of-the-month, too slick and smooth, as if listeners can't appreciate organic and spontaneous sounds. But wow. I can't stop listening to this. This CD is a blend of old and new, of different worlds and different musical histories. I haven't heard anything like it: eclectic, lively, imaginative, melodic, humorous, serious, and soulful. This band has it all plus its own unique live sound, great improvisation plus intelligent composing, and amazing musicianship. Truly hot violin, nimble and provocative sax, grooving bass that really talks back to African drums, and out-of-this-world percussion. (Is that really only one guy having a polyrhythmic party on four-five African drums and rattles while Rogers is soaring on the sax? The CD lists only two guys on percussion -- including Rogers.) I have to say that this is one of the most exciting, honest, and original CD's I've heard in a decade. Definitely a keeper, whether I want to travel and expand my mind or just feel like letting my body dance.

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't know what to call it, can't stop listening to it, December 8, 2004

By 

John Rogers (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jump for George (Audio CD)

Of late, I find myself drowning in music: CDs purchased, itunes downloaded, you-gotta-here-this disks loaned to me by friends. Everything from early Willy Nelson to mid Mingus to the latest by The Streets, and not nearly enough time to listen. One of the reasons? I can't take JUMP FOR GEORGE of my proverbial turntable. I have been playing this album over and over for months and it continue to knock me out. I'm more than a little suspicious of the granola-nut-crunchy label "world music," but what else can you call this amazing hybrid? It's jazz...but it's got a little Appalachian thing going on...and there's a great bit of funk it that baseline...amazingly intricate, catchy rhythms...these wild, piercing violin solos that just rock (when's the last time you read that?). On at least one track, if you listen closely, you can hear the percussionist playing himself. This is swinging, gripping, foot-stomping music that defies categorization. A thrilling album; every serious music lover I've played it for has agreed. This year, JUMP FOR GEORGE is my you-gotta-hear-this disk. And I can't wait to hear where this band goes next.

4.0 out of 5 stars Avant-garde, ethnic-tinged jazz, August 31, 2004

By 

WorldDiscoveries.Net "Bill Donovan, Reviewer" (Petaluma, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jump for George (Audio CD)

If it's jazzy worldbeat you seek with no limiting ethnic roots but tendrils all over, including in Africa, take a listen to Imaginary Homeland's JUMP FOR GEORGE: down-home Appalachian African/Irish jazz.
It's closer to Irish than anything else - but to befuddle, consider that David Rogers is on talking drum and Mark Stone's on an African drum set and you get the gist of the many cultural influences going on here.