VULA VIEL - Good is Good
(VDCD001 Cadiz)
Bex Burch (Gyil); Dan Nichols (bass synth/keyboards); Dave De Rose (drums); George Crowley (sax); Simon Roth (drums); Stephen Burke (vibes); Jim Hart (vibes).
This is an interesting hybrid recording blending together traditional music from North Ghana called Dagaare and modern jazz saxophone. If as Salman Rushdie once suggested that it is through the combination of difference that newness comes into the world then many listeners searching for new sounds will be intrigued by what is on offer here. There are of course no guarantees for musicians seeking to work across cultural boundaries however we should think hard before becoming too judgmental in this respect. The combination of musical styles on display here is best highlighted by the track ‘Gandayina’ that has produced a danceable alternative to the straight jacket that some definitions of jazz like to impose on musicians. There are perhaps in this respect two types of musician. The first is mainly concerned with locating their music within a tradition and then helping that style grow and move forward. More in evidence here is a deep respect for tradition, but this time combined with a more exploratory attitude that wishes to create a dialogue between modern jazz and other
perhaps less well explored genres of music. After all wasn’t this what jazz greats such as John Coltrane and Archie Shepp achieved in the 1960s paving the way for the emergence of world music in the 1980s. If you occasionally hear concerns about the ‘theft’ of traditional music by white Western musicians what is more in evidence here is a respectful and hypnotic musical dialogue. In terms of the sound it is Bex Burch on the Gyil and the tuneful interventions by saxophonist George Crowley that dominate an often ecstatic sounding piece of music. It is worth spending some time with this recording which I am sure will repay repeated listens over the months to come.
Reviewed by Nick Stevenson
(VDCD001 Cadiz)
Bex Burch (Gyil); Dan Nichols (bass synth/keyboards); Dave De Rose (drums); George Crowley (sax); Simon Roth (drums); Stephen Burke (vibes); Jim Hart (vibes).
This is an interesting hybrid recording blending together traditional music from North Ghana called Dagaare and modern jazz saxophone. If as Salman Rushdie once suggested that it is through the combination of difference that newness comes into the world then many listeners searching for new sounds will be intrigued by what is on offer here. There are of course no guarantees for musicians seeking to work across cultural boundaries however we should think hard before becoming too judgmental in this respect. The combination of musical styles on display here is best highlighted by the track ‘Gandayina’ that has produced a danceable alternative to the straight jacket that some definitions of jazz like to impose on musicians. There are perhaps in this respect two types of musician. The first is mainly concerned with locating their music within a tradition and then helping that style grow and move forward. More in evidence here is a deep respect for tradition, but this time combined with a more exploratory attitude that wishes to create a dialogue between modern jazz and other
perhaps less well explored genres of music. After all wasn’t this what jazz greats such as John Coltrane and Archie Shepp achieved in the 1960s paving the way for the emergence of world music in the 1980s. If you occasionally hear concerns about the ‘theft’ of traditional music by white Western musicians what is more in evidence here is a respectful and hypnotic musical dialogue. In terms of the sound it is Bex Burch on the Gyil and the tuneful interventions by saxophonist George Crowley that dominate an often ecstatic sounding piece of music. It is worth spending some time with this recording which I am sure will repay repeated listens over the months to come.
Reviewed by Nick Stevenson
