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CD Review
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Afropop, CD Review >>
Melvin Gibbs
Elevated Entity
Ancients Speak
LiveWired Music, 2009
Ancients Speak
Ancients Speak by Melvin Gibbs Elevated Entity offers new evidence that the repeated pronouncements of the death of the album concept are premature. Categorization of Gibbs’ music does not come easy. He has appeared on almost 200 albums and worked with a diverse array of musicians that includes Vernon Reid, Henry Rollins, John Zorn, Femi Kuti, and Caetano Veloso. Gibbs asserts that, “the whole point of making music is creating energy…. if you can get energies to meld, even if the musicians are from different geographic points, you get unity. The energy transcends the method.” That is a good capsule description of Ancients Speak, a virtual meeting place of various musical streams of the African diaspora. For bassist and bandleader Gibbs the “Black Atlantic continuum” is inscribed in the sonic story of people of African descent throughout the Americas. Ancients Speak is his vision of the Black Atlantic blending with New York as the meeting place – as Gibbs maintains, “the whole world is here.” The album may be a product of the diverse spirit of New York but the heart and inspiration for Ancients Speak are field recordings Gibbs made at candomblé houses in Bahia with co-producer Arto Lindsay. The percussion and vocals of Afoxee Filhos do Korin Efan and Bloco Aafro do Pirja, digitally manipulated by Gibbs, provide the rhythmic backbone of the record. The resulting sound collages mix candomblé with a variety of Black Atlantic sounds: hip-hop vocals, AfroBeat horns, Afro-Cuban percussion, and post-Hendrix-style guitar solos (Blackbyrd McKnight and Pete Cosey).
Despite the conceptual thread that holds the album together, the success of the individual tracks varies widely. The title track, which melds Yoruba spiritual traditions with Hendrix’s “electric sky church” spirituality, is one of the many near misses. Despite the inspired guitar solos and an inviting texture reminiscent of Miles Davis’ seminal jazz-fusion recording In a Silent Way, the song “Ancients Speak” doesn’t satisfy. The concept overrides the music. The same problem affects many of the tracks but it’s worth mentioning the songs where it all falls together. Jazz poetry in the Gil Scott-Heron / Last Poets tradition creates the New York bona fides of “Sometimes.” The smooth rap of Ruben deftly intertwines with the candomblé chorus of Afoxe Filhos do Korin Efan. The standout track on the album is “Mojuba,” a jazzy AfroBeat funk track where everything works: a driving bass line, Fela horn parts and a keyboard loop support outstanding vocals, reminiscent of AfroBeat iconoclast Lagbaja. Also, exceptional is “Os Aguas / The Waters” which effectively exploits the In a Silent Way vibe, fulfilling the mission of the album – blending spiritual traditions of the African diaspora with the “electric sky church” to create truly moving music. When the songs on Ancients Speak work, they are very good and, in the digital era, it is definitely worth downloading a few of the outstanding tracks. And that is another blow to the album concept.
By: Jeffrey Callen 03/18/09 >> go there
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