Á

The
Critics
John McDonough
John Corbett
Jim Macnie
Paul de Barros
Kenny Burrell
Unlimited 1
½
Randy Weston
The African Nubian Suite
½
½
Aggregate Prime
Dream Deferred
½
½
½
½
Jason Palmer
Beauty ‘N’ Numbers: Sudoku Suite
Critics’ Comments
Kenny Burrell, Unlimited 1
I normally prefer Kenny Burrell in a small band context, but the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra
Unlimited supports him splendidly through this chestnut-filled basket. His guitar is the spotlight,
and he’s still nimble as heck.
—John Corbett
I’ll take his guitar work over his big band experiments, but the deep swing of this outfit—and
the verve they bring to this live date—is convincing.
—Jim Macnie
Burrell, an elder who still plays with elegance and wit, fronts a modern big band with chewy
arrangements of classics like “Stolen Moments” and “Passion Flower.” Even the stage patter and
Burrell’s occasional vocal add intimacy to this enjoyable live recording. —Paul de Barros
Randy Weston, The African Nubian Suite
If “all music comes out of ... Africa,” as Weston asserts, you will find favor in this seminar in ethnomusicology,
which is an epic version of what he was doing back in 1960 on Uhuru Afrika. In the
presence of much talk, ancient cultural references and arcane forms, however, you may feel
distant from the content.
—John McDonough
What works in a live setting doesn’t always translate to CD. I wish the educational material was
in liner notes and the glororious music was subject to a nicer recording. —John Corbett
Afrocentric musicology and speechifying aside, this winning world panorama—featuring Candido
on percussion, Saliou Souso on kora, Min Xiao-Fen on pipa, Billy Harper on tenor saxophone
and Jayne Cortez on vocals—bristles with all-embracing joy.
—Paul de Barros
Aggregate Prime, Dream Deferred
Kicks off with a brief but remarkable exhibition of close-quarters ensemble interplay and some
precision dialog between bass and brushes. This sets the tightly woven manner of the work,
especially at the more zesty tempos.
—John McDonough
A powerful and unexpected combo, with all the momentum of the Davis/Peterson team and the
creative gumption of Iyer/Thomas. Whitfield is a perfect utility infielder. —John Corbett
Dude defines splash, and it saves him in a variety of situations, like the somewhat standard feel
of this roiling program. The tunes may not be novel, but the squad’s inventions keep your ears
burning.
—Jim Macnie
Jason Palmer, Beauty ‘N’ Numbers: The Sudoku Suite
Palmer’s horn rolls with a cool, quiet precision, often flowing out of annunciatory cadenzas that
suggest more consequence than what materializes. Composing by algorithm seems more an
intellectual than emotional process, and a distraction to the listener. —John McDonough
Palmer’s attack is a cure-all for complacency, and the small ways that he and his squad bend
the rules on this imaginative date reminds how he earned such a deep reputation on the Boston
scene: by kicking ass.
—Jim Macnie
As if he were thinking out loud, trumpeter Palmer brings a rich tone, shapely sense of design
and a calm, interior mood that recall Dave Douglas to this intriguingly conceived suite. The
quartet meshes beautifully, but sometimes lacks drama.
—Paul de Barros
FEBRUARY 2017 DOWNBEAT 71