Customer Reviews

No Room for Argument

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

 

 

Stretch Records presents a cast of modern jazz stalwarts - Steven Hall (tenor & soprano sax & bass clarinet), Antoine Roney (tenor & soprano sax & bass clarinet), Geri Allen (piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano. synthesizer), Adam Holzman (Wurlitzer electric piano, organ, mini-moog, synthesizers), Buster Williams (bass), Lenny White (drums), Val "Gelder" Jeanty (samples & electronica) - join Wallace Roney in a recording that leaves "No Room For Argument". It's simply one of his most creative and mesmerizing outings to date.

Wallace Roney merges modern, creative jazz improvisation with infectious, relentless grooves, peppered with almost subliminal yet highly-charged samples and electronica...always on the cutting edge.

Herbie Hancock once said - "I think music is supposed to make you high, give you an experience so that you can transport yourself from wherever you are, more conscious of you inner consciousness"...and Satchmo was quoted - "I'm not doing anything, it doesn't need an explanation. I'm reacting to what's been done and what's supposed to be happening today, everything you've ever heard, all that is condensed, we play body "Body and Soul" in two bars, I wanted to play songs that have a definite beginning and an ending".

Well, this CD is that, and then some...might not be your cup of tea, but try some...you may just like it!

Total Time: 71:42 on 10 Tracks...Stretch Records 9033...(2000)

With this release, Wallace seperates himself further from his contemporary trumpeters. "No Room for Argument" is an excellent, multi-faceted, gem. The added layers of sound and voice float in and out of the slightly subdued (except track 9), instrumental virtuosity. It all blends into a very modern sound. As a Trumpeter/leader/composer, Mr. Roney is definitely headed "Out there"! Long live the Committee.

There have been some excellent recordings led by trumpeters over the last year or two, but this new release from Wallace Roney trumps them all: this was THE jazz recording of 2000! Accompanying Roney are Steve Hall and Antoine Roney on tenor sax, soprano sax, and bass clarinet; Geri Allen and Adam Holzman on various keyboards and synthesizers; Buster Williams on bass; Lenny White on drums; and Val "Gelder" Jeanty providing samples. In the liner notes, Roney talks about paying tribute to the past and looking to the future, and he does a fine job of both.

The CD opens with his strong horn playing on the title cut, then comes one of the most inspired arrangements of jazz that I have ever heard, "Homage and Acknowledgement (A Love Supreme/Filles de Kilimanjaro)," which is nothing short of drop-dead amazing. On "Christina," Roney shows that he has a way with a ballad, and then on "NeuBeings," and it's suddenly Bitches Brew in the 21st Century, a groove that grows even deeper on the next cut, "Cygroove." Whew! The CD ends with some tasty, straightforward acoustic jazz on the cut, "Midnight Blue." I have not mentioned every cut, but believe me, every cut is strong, and so is the engineering. As I said at the outset, this was THE jazz recording of 2000, and I still recommend it highly in 2009.

This is the best CD I purchased this year! He is taking a strecth using the electrical stuff... but I actually like it! I would recommend this to anyone seeking to hear new jazz music (not repackaged CD of stuff you already have in your collection)and good acid jazz/alternative music as well. This is good stuff.

I agree with the previous review. Roney tries just too hard to sound like Miles, though I don't know about him sitting in his room with Miles posters etc. etc. I noticed the same problem with Cindy Blackman, her albums sound just too much at times like Miles' mid-60's quintet. Actually a lot of musicians copy it; Wynton copied it too, when he was starting out, oddly enough trashing Miles in the press all the time. That was before he started playing Dixieland.

Anyway, this is a pretty good album, but I've heard many of these musicians on other albums and know they're capable of more when pushed to really produce. Here, they have a mission to sound like Miles' groups, and they do a good job of it, but I don't think it's worth a purchase unless you're a diehard Roney fan and want to hear him in this context.

This CD asks the musical question, "What's the difference between homage and ripoff"? If you're Wallace Roney, the answer is--not much. This disc would more appropriately have been entitled, "I wish I were Miles Davis". I can just picture a young Roney practicing his horn surrounded by Miles posters and paraphenalia perfecting his imitative technique.There's nothing on this disc that you can't find, done much better, by Miles in any of his electric sessions. Granted, I don't write jazz reviews for the New York Times, but I am a serious collector and listener of jazz music and to my ear, there is nothing new here. I defy the average jazz fan to find a unique voice here.The technique is excellent to be sure, and the imitation is spot on, but if you want Champaign, why drink sparkling cider? Spend your CD dollar wisely, go to the Miles Davis section, and avoid [poor] imitations.