Sun Araw- Off Duty

Som I might as well do some sort of review now

Artist: Sun Araw
Album: Off Duty
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Dub, Experimental
Rating: 7/10

On Cameron Stallone's previous LP, On Patrol, the songs sounded, even if it was a very small relation, connected to earth. On this EP, though, the songs become otherworldly. This is the sort of high that Omar Rodriguez-Lopez wants to be on.

The EP starts off in a very... interesting fashion, with the first track, "Last Chants," starting out with two minutes of noise. However, one the actual song kicks in, it gets good. It doesn't take long for the song to set into a groove that displays one of SA's strengths: the ability to makes repetitive rhythms simply mesmerizing. The punctuated, reverbed vocals and added noise effects serve only to make the song better, acting as stabs of emotion that keep the song from sounding too repetitive. As with most Sun Araw songs, the dense layers of sound all melt together in a way that would make the sound lacking if any part was missing. Overall, a great song.

The second song, Midnight Locker, has an incredible sense of wonder to it. It starts with a very subdued (in a relative sense) and peaceful (again, relative) feel. However, as the song begins to take form, it quickly establishes itself as even weirder, with Stallone's volcals sounding genuinly disturbing, and as if he was calling out for help. the multiple crescendos that dissolve spontaneously as they appear also help. With the second half of the song, it takes more of a minimal feel, with the main focus being on the pulsing bass, the almost free-form drums, and they keys, with other instruments and sounds adding terse effects every once in a while. By the end, though, the full out chaotic feeling is back, before dissolving altogether, as if it never existed at all.

In comparison, the third track, Deep Temple, has a very positive feel. This is where Stallone's dub influence becomes obvious, to the point where the song sounds like 51st century reggae. This is another cool song, though at times a bit too repetitive.

Overall, a really cool and trippy EP.

Grant Green- The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark

Picking my favorite Grant Green is like picking my favorite Archer joke, as pretty much all of his albums that he recorded for Blue Note in the early 1960s are essential jazz, especially for guitar players. As such, I’m going to cheat and go with three of them.

Artist: Grant Green
Album: The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark
Genre: Hard Bop, Soul Jazz
Rating: 9.5/10

This collection of three Green albums – Gooden’s Corner, Nigeria, and Oleo – feature him and pianist Sonny Clark at the top of their game. The album opens with the fast paced “Airegin,” which does an excellent job of demonstrating Grant’s lyrical and clear playing, and features a drum solo by Art Motherfucking Blakey. The album only gets better from there.

Honestly, it’s interesting how this album is mostly credited to Grant Green, as he and Clark play so well together that you’d expect this album to be credited as a duet or something like that. I’m not kidding: both of these guys play off of each other incredibly well, and Clark’s playing is incredibly tasteful and compliments Green perfectly. The fact that there are no horns prevents their playing from ever becoming hopelessly muddled, and allows them to really have the spotlight. Art Blakey’s playing on the first disc (Nigeria), helps even further. Not only does compliment both players well, but when they trade fours with him in songs such as “The Song is You,” and let him rip in “Airegin,” he easily shows why he’s one of the best jazz drummers out there.

The second disc, Gooden’s Corner, opens up with Sonny Clark’s amazing piano playing on “On Green Dolphin street.” Unfortunately, here comes the only problem that I have with the album: Louis Hayes is a great drummer, but he’s no Art Blakey. As such, the backing behind Clark and Green tends feel not as good after the first disc. That’s pretty small change when it comes to this record though, “On Green Dolphin Street” also contains a great bass solo form Sam Jones. Highlights on the disc two include Shadrack and Gooden’s Corner.

Disc three, Oleo, is more or less the same as the second (not that that’s a bad thing). Standout tracks include “Hip Funk” and “My Favorite Things.”  

Despite the fact that this collection totals at slightly over two hours, the fresh playing on means that it never once feels tedious or boring. This collection does an excellent job of showing a criminally underrated guitarist at his best. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Jazz and Guitar.

Selected Tracks:
Airegin
Shadrack
Gooden’s Corner