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CD Review- Togbe
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www.muzikifan.com, CD Review- Togbe >>
GANGBE BRASS BANDTOGBE
(Contrejour 009)
The late Lester Bowie is certainly a hard act to follow but two sides of his career come to mind in listening to the Gangbé Brass Band. One of the things the Art Ensemble of Chicago was doing, I think, was trying to recapture a sense of their own African-ness through music. Like other American jazz artists they were serious students of African rhythms. Another of Bowie's outlets, Brass Fantasy, was a hyper-talented group of hornmen jamming on standards, from "I only have eyes for you" to Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill." I saw both bands and it's hard to say who was having more fun, the controlled spontaneity of the Art Ensemble or the virtuoso flights of fancy of Brass Fantasy. Gangbé Brass Band hail from Benin; their name means "Sound of metal" in Fon and they do the Lester Bowie tradition proud. They came together ten years ago as a group of young musicians to explore different traditional Beninese rhythms through the eyes of modern jazz. This album is exceptional and certain to please jazz fans as much as aficionados of traditional African music. The drumming is high in the mix and the horn arrangments are top notch. Four trumpets, sax and two trombones make a great ensemble. Occasionally the second trombonist holds down the bottom on euphonium, as on the track "Ajaka," and this is where the groove locks over the talking drum, conga and bass drum. The ritual chanting goes on a bit long at times and would have easily been supplanted by horn lines. This also would have made it more accesible to those who don't understand the Yoruba, Fon or Goun languages.
-Alastair Johnston 11/04/05 >> go there
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