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| Francisco Mora Catlett "RIVER DRUM' by Bruce Lee Gallanter Francisco Mora Catlett With Markus Belgrave / Craig Taborn / Alex Harding - River Drum (Premier Cru; USA) From 2005, this is an earlier gem from former Sun Ra & M'Boom percussionist, Francisco Mora Catlett. It features four different groups including a string quartet on one track. The players include Marcus Blegrave & John Douglass on trumpets, Alex Harding & Vincent Bowens on saxes, Sherman Mitchell on trombone, Craig Taborn or Kenny Cox on piano, Rodney Whittaker on bass, Emile Borde on steel drums, and Alberto Nacif, Jerry LeDuff & Francisco Mora Catlett on drums & percussion. 'River Drum' is one of the best percussion centered discs I've heard in a long while. Francisco wrote, arranged and produced this wonderful disc. I find this music to by joyous, jubilant and rhythmically seductive. The rich layer of interlocking percussion pushes this music to one great groove after another. I only know of a few of the musicians on this disc, but everyone plays superbly throughout. It is always great to hear local bari sax giant Alex Harding wail and he gets a few chances to stretch out here as well. The other (tenor) saxist here, Vincent Bowens also plays with fire and that creative spirit. Special mention to bassist Rodney Whitaker who plays some excellent acoustic bass throughout, bubbling and burning when need be. Steel drummer, Emile Borde, also sparkles all over the place, as do both trumpeters, the legendary Marcus Belgrave and John Douglass. Considering that this disc is some 75-minutes long, I must admit that it is consistently spirited and creative. The only Latin (oriented) jazz that has knocked me out in years comes from Kip Hanrahan. It would seem the great Francisco Mora Catlett has given Kip a run for his money. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |