Jon Armstrong’s music is full of life and humanity, and like life and humanity, it is complex, sometimes messy, sometimes dark, sometimes light, always interesting, and unavoidably engaging. It is also indefatigably optimistic. His latest release, Reabsorb, is all those things.
Drawing from a wide palette—from blues to ragtime, stride to funk, go-go to gospel—and the experience gained from two decades of performing with saxophonist David Murray, pianist Lafayette Gilchrist delivers an arresting new trio recording that, as its title suggests, is about Now.
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Seamlessly blending the dancing rhythms of Brazil and the funk of New Orleans, and delivering it with a dose of New York City attitude, Nation Beat rides irresistible grooves that all but demand that you get up off that damn sofa and dance.
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I first heard reed maestro Arlen Asher in concert at the Outpost in Albuquerque. I don’t remember too much about that evening—it was 25 years ago or so—but the audience was humming in anticipation of his appearance, a local guy I’d never heard of. I wondered what all the fuss was about. I soon found out.
At a time when raw examples of racial injustice burn through our consciousness, requiring us to reexamine the promise of our country and how we have failed that promise, bassist/composer Gregg August’s timely new recording, Dialogues on Race, speaks directly to our condition. August premiered the piece in 2009 after the election of Barack Obama and then put it in the rearview mirror, but in light of the current upheaval and encouraged by many of the musicians who had premiered it, he decided to revive the piece, with this explanation: “My hope is that Dialogues on Race can in some small way serve as an integrated musical bridge to awareness, and maybe even stand as an affirmation against racism and injustice. Admittedly, these are lofty goals. However, through conversation, community, and art, I know we can work together toward furthering understanding.”
Dialogues on Race, whose music is inspired and in some cases accompanied by powerful poetry that focuses on our racial fault lines, offers an opportunity for sincere reflection on these things, opening the door to a deeper understanding through exceptionally expressive music and stellar performances.