Time: 25:34
Size: 58.5 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2017
Art: Front
[3:54] 1. Hold The Line
[5:13] 2. Brothers & Sisters
[5:41] 3. What's Going On
[4:48] 4. Red & Blue
[2:43] 5. Fair Weather
[3:13] 6. Kamala's Dance
On Brothers & Sisters, Clifford Lamb builds upon his previous release to further bridge the several streams that flow together in his music: his work as a composer; his flair for arranging music written by others; his abilities as an improvising pianist, working with first-rank collaborators; and his desire to incorporate newer developments into a style and career steeped in the jazz tradition. Add in a concern with matters of fairness and justice, and that’s a lot to pack into 25 minutes. Yet this set feels neither rushed or overstuffed – a testament to the purpose and command at the heart of these songs.
Take the title track, for example. Although inspired by recent events – a political campaign that has exposed the deep divisions in American life – it in fact could have sprung from pretty much any epoch in the history of man. Spanish-born vocalist Laura Vall (of the indie pop band The Controversy) provides the ethereal introduction, aided by Cindy Blackman Santana’s shimmering cymbal work. Then Lamb and the legendary bassist Buster Williams fill out the groove, setting the stage for poet Chaim Dunbar to remind listeners of a message that always needs restating: “Unaware of our family ties,” raps Dunbar, “we become complicit in our own demise.” Adds Lamb: “It reflects the urgency I feel about what’s going on in the world, politically and socioeconomically, along with my feeling about how people should ideally be getting along. We’re all the same, and we should address each other as human beings first.”
Brothers & Sisters is the second of Lamb’s “cameo collections,” short albums of six or seven tracks that present a digital-age version of the vinyl era’s EP (Extended Play) discs. These allow Lamb to follow the lead of hip-hop and pop artists who – unburdened by the directive to complete a full-length album for each release – can intensify the relevance of their music by shrinking the gap between creation and consumption. As with the previous release Bridges, Lamb recorded direct to two-track, with no post-production tweaks to amend what took place in the studio. What you hear is what they played.
Take the title track, for example. Although inspired by recent events – a political campaign that has exposed the deep divisions in American life – it in fact could have sprung from pretty much any epoch in the history of man. Spanish-born vocalist Laura Vall (of the indie pop band The Controversy) provides the ethereal introduction, aided by Cindy Blackman Santana’s shimmering cymbal work. Then Lamb and the legendary bassist Buster Williams fill out the groove, setting the stage for poet Chaim Dunbar to remind listeners of a message that always needs restating: “Unaware of our family ties,” raps Dunbar, “we become complicit in our own demise.” Adds Lamb: “It reflects the urgency I feel about what’s going on in the world, politically and socioeconomically, along with my feeling about how people should ideally be getting along. We’re all the same, and we should address each other as human beings first.”
Brothers & Sisters is the second of Lamb’s “cameo collections,” short albums of six or seven tracks that present a digital-age version of the vinyl era’s EP (Extended Play) discs. These allow Lamb to follow the lead of hip-hop and pop artists who – unburdened by the directive to complete a full-length album for each release – can intensify the relevance of their music by shrinking the gap between creation and consumption. As with the previous release Bridges, Lamb recorded direct to two-track, with no post-production tweaks to amend what took place in the studio. What you hear is what they played.
Brothers & Sisters
