TITLE: G.R.A.S.S. On Fire
LABEL: Mighty Gowanus
REVIEW: I’ve long believed that jazz improvisations on top of a solid, cracking reggae rhythm section sounds great, but it’s just not something I hear often enough. Now comes a new Brooklyn-based band dedicated to just that concept, playing the songs of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Catch A Fire. Some of the tracks here are a little too sleepy and smooth for my taste. But when the rhythm section gets up a righteous head of steam (as on tracks 1 and 9 and the latter part of track 7) and the soloists cut loose (especially trombonist Mark Miller throughout, and guest guitar-shredder Brad Shepik on 9), that’s when this album delivers everything I want out of a jazz-reggae fusion. It’s nice to see a new generation of musicians working out this concept; I hope they stick with it because they’ve got a good thing going here.
REVIEWER: Bill Lupoletti
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: 1 7 9
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