The Latin American style of music has served as inspiration for some of the greatest musicians of all time, the genius of Dizzy Gillespie’s salsa flavored jazz remains his best work, filled with some of the funkiest jams you’ve probably never heard. So drawing from the musical stylings of the area is a pretty safe bet for a talented musician seeking inspiration. Earlier this year, I got a fusion of Ethiopian Jazz and funk flavored hip-hop from Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics (Interesting fact: Malcom Catto of The Heliocentrics is on the drums here). Now I’m getting an ear of wonderful funk with the flavors of salsa and Latin jazz all over. Quantic and His Combo Barbaro have brought us one of the downright funkiest albums of the year. For those who enjoy hip-hop and especially funk.. get on Tradition in Transition NOW. For those who enjoy all other kinds of music? Get on Tradition in Transition now.
Points:
Recorded entirely traditionally, with all the players creating dialogue between each other, this is a gorgeously lush record, a treasure for the ears to dissect. Crisp, clean instrumentation leads the way, creating soundscapes that are almost guaranteed to be more rewarding for attentive listeners. The players get into tight, interlocking grooves. Not only is this intuitive, rewarding music, but it’s downright fun music as well. There seems to be an unspoken trust between all the players that what they offer is going to just as valuable as all the other musician’s contributions to the album, and indeed it is.
The vocal spots on the album are surprisingly organic, never disruptive, never distracting from the flow of the album’s groove, instead complimenting it. The array of vocalists is impressive, coming from places such as Panama and India. The vocal pieces flow well with the instrumental pieces and no song really drags forward. I find myself trying to find flaws but quickly forgetting them because I’m simply enjoying the album so much.
I really hope we see more interesting music like this arrive as the year moves closer to 2010 because I adore the international mix, it’s genuinely fun music and interesting music as well, it never needs to compromise one or the other, everything feels wonderfully organic and unforced. It’s dance music that can be enjoyed with or without dancing, and it’s classy dance music at that. Wonderful is the proper word to use here.
Download a track off of the album here
