When I first started collecting 45 rpm "singles" back in the 1960s, every once in a while, one of my favorite artists would drop a four-song 45. Those packages were extremely popular in Great Britain. Nowadays, the "industry" still insists calling a CD with 3, 4. or 5 cuts, an "EP" –– go figure!
 |
| Photo: David Crow |
Saxophonist, composer, and educator
Rudresh Mahanthappa first organized the
Hero Trio with bassist
François Moutin and drummer
Rudy Royston in 2019 with their debut CD released in June of 2020 by Whirlwind Recordings. Needless to say, the pandemic put an end to the Trio's tour plan for that year and, as it turns out, the next year as well. Undeterred, Mahanthappa brought the rhythm section into the studio in November of 2021 and they laid the tracks for their next release, an EP titled "
Animal Crossing". Like the debut, the material comes from myriad sources –– in this instance, the four tracks include pieces by Pat Metheny, Chuck Mangione, George Michael, and
Kazumi Totaka. Who is Kazumi Tokata? He's the composer of the recording's title track which is the theme for a popular video game that the leader's young children have played a lot since the beginning of the pandemic.
If you know the band's debut recording, you understand this is a band that loves to hit hard, loves to push each other, and to have great fun. The title track leaps out of the speakers but, to the song's credit and the band's sensitivities, they don't mess with the "sweet" video game melody. When they get to Mahanthappa's solo, the music takes off. Moutin's powerful and melodic bass lines, often in counterpoint to the saxophonist's phrases, plus Royston's frenetic dancing all around his kit is a real treat. The trio tears into Metheny's "
Missouri Uncompromised" (from the guitarist's debut ECM album "
Bright Size Life") –– they don't ignore the handsome melody yet it's such a treat to hear what the rhythm section does throughout the piece. Mangione's "
Give It All You Got" (from the flugelhornist's 1980 "
Fun and Games" Lp), is rearranged from its original "funky" take and has more of a ballad feel. Excellent solos from the leader and the bassist stand out.
 |
| Photo: David Crow |
The final track is a rapid-fire, wild ride, through George Michael's "
Faith". While Mahanthappa plays the melody, listen below to what Moutin and Royston are doing. The bassist plays very quickly yet maintains his melodic counterpoint while Royston brings the "thunder". The shortest piece of the four at 4:29, the music still amazes for the trio's ability to be so powerful and still respect the melody.
"Animal Crossing", the EP, is a blast. The Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio certainly can fly but also knows how to glide. When the world reopens, make sure to go see them (they're touring in Europe in March). Their music just might save the world!
Have some "Faith":
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment