Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2021
Personnel - Ches Smith: drums, percussion, vocals; Miguel Zenón: alto saxophone; Matt Mitchell: piano; Nick Dunston: bass; Sirene Dantor Rene: vocals; Daniel Brevil, Markus Schwartz and Fanfan Jean-Guy Rene: tanbou, vocals.
The singular drummer/percussionist and composer Ches Smith fell in love with the drumming rituals of Haitian vodou music in 2000 and, since then, has been exploring and maturing it. His We All Break project began as a quartet in 2015, but now has doubled its members into a perfect octet lineup that includes all the original co-conspirators - pianist Matt Mitchell and tanbou players/singers Daniel Brevil and Markus Schwartz - plus the valuable additions of alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, bassist Nick Dunston, Haitian singer Sirene Dantor Rene and percussionist/singer Fanfan Jean-Guy Rene. This expansion allowed Smith to work on a broader range of musical territory on Path of Seven Colors, in which he pushes the envelope by brewing a potent cauldron of Haitian vodou rhythms and contemporary jazz.
The singing gets even more exposure on this album and the lead-off track, “Woule Pou Mwen” points the way after a precursory piano figure that joins the intervallic and the limberness. If this piece is based on the Kongo rhythm, a secular form of social dancing, then “Here’s the Light” erupts in the classic Port-au-Prince style bas line, merging the Afro-Haitian rhythmic colors of the Yanvalou (a sacred dance) with jazz influences that range from Keith Jarrett’s post-bop to Ornette Coleman’s harmolodics.
The latter tune thrives with improvisations from Mitchell and Zenón, who share and alternate the spotlight with eminent sagacity. The pair also delivers in the cutting-edge three-section “Women of Iron”, a fantastically orchestrated instrumental, whose Napo rhythm (coming from the Nigerian Yoruba roots and associated with military conflict and liberation) is complex and encouraging. I simply marveled at the playing of Zenón here.
“Leaves Arrive” kicks off with extended chantings that incorporate Brevil’s lyrics as well as one traditional song, climaxing in polyrhythmic expression and contagious statements from bass and saxophone. Inversely, “Raw Urbane”, marked by the propulsive Djouba rhythm (associated with cultivation and farming) stresses counterpoint and spiky accents before shifting to the Abitan dance type, occasion when soulful vocals and Zenón’s folk decoration step to the fore.
The title cut has a strong presence for it starts off with more atmospheric mood and unfettered sense of space prior to affix a strangely hypnotic pulsation.
Confident as ever, Smith proves to be a drummer of categorical rhythmic detail. His thought-provoking explorations combine precise articulation and an inexhaustible eclectic vitality.
Grade B+
Favoriter Tracks:
04 - Women of Iron ► 06 - Raw Urbane ► 07 - Path of Seven Colors