Time: 69:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz World Fusion
Art: Front
01. Intro ( 0:26)
02. The Unknown ( 5:47)
03. Shadow Woman ( 6:28)
04. Use It All (10:45)
05. Hold On ( 8:38)
06. Get Involved ( 5:24)
07. Nobody's Fault But Mine ( 6:37)
08. You'll Never Follow ( 5:52)
09. Gospel Sermon ( 8:15)
10. Wade In The Water ( 6:25)
11. Bridge Over Troubled Water ( 4:49)
A unique and ambitious recording project conceived and organized by Oakland-based vocalist/flutist/drummer/producer Jeff Weinmann, Alma Matters reflects the vibrant cultural diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area, and features some of the region's artists who have become leading voices in contemporary music. It's a collection of songs "with a message" interspersed with grooving, African- and Latin-infused instrumentals whose horn-laden melodies call out and unfold over a thick layer of drums and percussion. Co-produced by SF-based trombonist/recording engineer Jeff Cressman and Berkeley-born, now NY-based multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum, the recording draws heavily from the Bay Area's jazz scene - indeed, many of the participants came through the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble and/or Apfelbaum's world music big band, the Hieroglyphics Ensemble - but also draws from the local Gospel and Latin scenes as well. The multifaceted album includes re-imagined, Afro-Latin percussion-heavy covers of the spirituals "Wade In The Water" (done with a brass band and featuring Gospel singers Terrence Kelly and Destani Wolf) and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" (featuring Sandy Cressman's vocals and Apfelbaum's tenor sax over intermittent horn chorales and Josh Jones' congas) as well as Paul Simon's classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" done as a vocal quartet with Apfelbaum on piano, and a reggae version of the 70's soul hit "Get Involved" featuring vocalist Tony Lindsay (Jeff Cressman's bandmate in the Santana band for years). The album also includes cinematically orchestrated originals by Apfelbaum, Sandy and Natalie Cressman (whose "You'll Never Follow" features fellow rising star Elena Pinderhughes on vocals) and trumpeter Erik Jekabson, and includes an churning, suite-like meditation on recycling, "Use It All", by Apfelbaum's latest band, Sparkler.
Alma Matters