Word: bassing
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...Tour at the Berklee Perfomance Center, one of 36 nationwide concerts that will take place from February 5 to May 1, was a pleasant surprise. The show, which featured Kenny Barron on piano, Regina Carter on violin, Kurt Elling on vocals, Russell Malone on guitar, Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums, featured a beautiful display of some of the best mainstream jazz musicianship on today’s scene. The concert wasn’t hip, and it certainly didn’t draw the young audience the organizers had hoped for, but the atmosphere was upbeat...
...jazz—Blake shone throughout the night, but here he produced an especially lively, just ahead-of-the-beat, sound interspersed with snapping rolls and cymbal brushes that propelled the frenetic tune along. Kitagawa, with his calm demeanor and walrus mustache, evoked a Mingus-like sprightliness in his bass playing, switching between slow and fast in a messed-up blues solo. Barron himself remained a steadfast leader throughout, grounding the trio with bluesy riffs and rippling over the higher range of notes in a frenzy...
...previously-released singles, “Mouthful of Diamonds” and “When I’m Small;” by far the two best songs on the record. The former flaunts an orca-esque squeal and is driven by a warm, droning synthesized bass line that, when isolated at the beginning of the verse, creates a beautifully hazy atmosphere. “When I’m Small” follows, sounding like a less dramatic or soul-infused Portishead cut. Though somewhat rhythmically monotonous, the song is carried by the strong, pulsing bass line...
...Paradise Circus”—the album’s other exceptional track—starts with the simple, skeletal chiming of piano and the glassy ambiance of vibraphone. A heavy bass line kicks in soon thereafter, and drives the song to the album’s musical apex. Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval lends her voice to this particular track, and her airy recitation of the lyrics only adds to the disquieting mood of the song. “Oh well, the devil makes us sin,” she coos...
...less than impressive, however—that of Horace Andy, a reggae musician and an oft-collaborator of Massive Attack. Andy appears on two tracks to a disconcerting effect, as his voice feels grossly misplaced in the middle of these songs. For instance, he lends his deep, raspy bass to the first single off the album, “Splitting the Atom,” and his vocals sound too breathy for the song’s sleek backdrop, distracting from one of the best musical compositions on the album...