Work Songs (Motéma Music)
Jaimeo Brown Transcendence
Released February 12, 2016
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
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https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mu453XKJkDzlIxtJXKJYZvqWamsilJiOs
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About:
Echoes of the past meet visions of the future on Work Songs, the follow up to Jaimeo Brown Transcendence’s arresting 2013 self-titled debut. From recordings of prisoners in Mississippi to stonemasons in Japan, the album brings renewed life to historical work songs through a mixture of powerfully evocative samples and new recordings. Comprised of drummer/producer Jaimeo Brown and guitarist/producer Chris Sholar, Jaimeo Brown Transcendence deftly weaves together the acoustic and the digital, compellingly connecting jazz and blues with contemporary rock, hip-hop and electronic music.
Track Listing:
1. Hidden Angel 4:58
2. Mississippi 4:16
3. Lazarus 4:02
4. Safflower 5:07
5. Be So Glad 5:54
6. Happy Serving 4:57
7. 2113 5:12
8. Moment of Rest 2:41
9. For Mama Lucy 5:54
10. Stonemason 3:57
11. Paterson 2:11
12. The Valley 6:14
Personnel:
Jaimeo Brown: drums, electronics
Chris Sholar: guitars, electronics
Jaleel Shaw: alto saxophone
JD Allen: tenor saxophone
Marcia Miget: flute
Brandon McCune: organ
Big Yuki: keyboards
James Francies: keyboards
Lester Chambers: vocals
Falu: vocals
Marisha Rodriguez: vocals
Cadence Brown: vocals
Revil Mosley: vocals
Gee’s Bend Quilters Singers (China Pettway, Lorraine Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway): vocals
Recorded on November 22-23, 2014 at Valve Tone Studios, NYC
Produced by Jaimeo Brown & Chris Sholar
Recorded and Mixed by Todd Whitelock
Addtional Recording: Rob Moxley, Dartanyan Brown, Harry Conyers
Mastered by Trevor Fedele
Art Direction: Rebecca Meek
Project Manager: Haley Brawner, Rachel Silton
Executive-Producer: Jana Herzen
Review:
Jaimeo Brown avoids the sophomore slump with Work Songs, the superb follow-up to Transcendence, which was one of the most ambitious and scintillating jazz debuts of 2013. Instead of overhauling his artistic direction, the drummer builds upon the concept of the former disc on which he ingeniously enveloped sampled material from Gee’s Bend Quilters singers in Alabama inside electronica-enhanced sonic soundscapes. This time around, Brown turns his attention to works songs. While there’s an emphasis on the black American experience—specifically, the somber “Lazarus” and the bittersweet “Be So Glad”—the disc’s concept expands globally. Such is the case with the spectral “Safflower,” on which Brown underscores a microtonal Japanese vocal melody with hip-hop rhythms to convey a sense of innocence lost and resilience after the country’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Holdovers from Transcendence include the Gee’s Bend Quilters singers, tenor saxophonist JD Allen and guitarist/co-producer Chris Sholar, affording Work Songs a nice continuity from its predecessor. But it’s the new recruitment of keyboardists Big Yuki and James Francies that sharpens Brown’s vision by strengthening the cinematic flow. Work Songs is confirmation of Brown’s potential of becoming one of the great jazz conceptualists of his generation.
John Murph (DownBeat)
