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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anthemic jazz to die for, May 4, 2006
We've had a spate of politically contextualized instrumental jazz lately (Charlie Haden's Not in Our Name, Ben Allison's Cowboy Justice, Marty Ehrlich's News on the Rail, and others), but none as successful as Bobby Previte's latest.
First off, although it comes wrapped in gaudy communist garb (with red background, single star, raised fists, etc.), it's hard to tell if the take here is laudatory or ironic--the latter, I'm thinking, especially as it sports a lengthy quote from Orwell's 1984, a kind of deconstruction of totalitarian regimes, which, even as it references Marx's Hegelian social dialectic, simultaneously proclaims the futility of revolutionary correctives.
Second, instead of long-winded rants against the heinousness of the Bush administration, the liner notes and packaging thematically express more of a non-specific desire for human freedom (an entirely legitimate sentiment) than catalog any particular socio-political ills to be redressed, let alone regimes to brought down or verbally excoriated. What this does is free the music from attachment to any potentially spurious, time-bound parties or movements and thereby achieve a kind of timeless anthemic purity. (It also enables a Catholic conservative like myself to enjoy it without any qualms.)
And what music it is! Ringing guitars, pounding drums, sick organ swells, outrageous trumpet blats, wailing saxes. And although every single cut is absolutely top notch, four stand out: "Airstrip One," with its insanely powerful dual drumming (extra percussion courtesy of Stanton Moore), "The Inner Party," featuring the dual slide guitars of Charlie Hunter and Stew Cutler, the hugely evocative anthemic ballad, "Memory Hole," showcasing the insane sax of Skerik and the very weirdly out-yet-in-the-pocket harmonica of Stew Cutler plus a perfect Al Caiola coda thanks to Charlie Hunter, and the topper, the U 2-ish "Anthem for Andrea," with Jamie Saft channeling the spirit of The Edge, Skerik's searing sax, Previte's hortatory drumming, and a sound so huge as to relegate all pretend anthem-purveyors to oblivion.
Listen. This is it. Workers of the world unite. Join hands with the downtrodden and oppressed throughout all of history. Come, you poor, you marginalized, you immigrants, you untouchables, you lepers, you AIDS victims, you Maoris, you American Indians, you oppressed, you wage-slaves: Here is music to express your deepest heart-cries, your alienation, your poverty, your invisibility.
Thank you, Bobby Previte. You have made a disc of stunning originality and significance.
My record of the year. Hands down.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a good project that's missing something, November 8, 2008
"The Coalition of the Willing" (TCOTW) is an interesting venture. For this effort, Bobby Previte put together a great band with the likes of bigwigs such as Charlie Hunter, Stanton Moore and Skerik. The music is rock inspired jazz. The flavor is consistent with like-minded artists on the Ropeadope label. Indeed, "TCOTW" will appeal to listeners of jam based music such as the Benevento & Russo Duo, Critters Buggin' and T.J. Kirk. While heavy weight champion Charlie Hunter participates, his signature sound is strangely absent. This bland offering lacks memorable melodies and power solos. That written, every track has a fantastic sound. In this respect, the CD unintentionally works well in the background. I saw this incarnation of TCOTW live. My hope was that the mediocrity of this CD was due to the difficulty of capturing improvisational magic in the studio. Unfortunately, this project was just as lackluster on stage. Almost all of the other reviews for this project are glowing and I now believe that there is a vocal minority. It's not just me because by the end of the band's set, most of the audience had disappeared. In any case, "Coalition of the Willing" is an enjoyable background listen.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly entertaining, if not wildly original..., June 12, 2006
... which about says it all. If you don't have a detailed knowledge of Previte's past work, the fact that he reworks some old compositions won't matter. It's a highly entertaining, highly energetic album. (It reminds me of The President's "Bring Yr Camera", a Wayne Horvitz project that Previte was a part of.)
Complaining that he reworks some earlier compositions for a new line-up of musicians seems beside the point. Jazz musicians do that all the time.
This isn't cutting edge, but it it's tremendously entertaining. Given the line-up, it's more in the ballpark of Galactic or Critters Buggin.
To hear something recent that's more adventurous from Previte, try Groundtruther's "Longitude" (with Charlie Hunter and DJ Logic). In fact, it's Charlie Hunter who really climbs out of his rut on both albums.
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by Bobby Previte 
