Reviewed: 2020—03-08
Genre: Jazz
FCCs: none
Review: Saxophonist Liebman has reformed his Expansions band for a new outing. This time, they attempt to translate earth vibrations into music by riffing off of different areas of the planet. Endlessly interesting, spacy & improvisational.
If You Like: Weather Report, Jan Garbarek, Roscoe Mitchell
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
*1/ Earth Theme (3:24) – spacey synth starts> slow tempo space jam> slow fade
2/ Bass Interlude (1:29) – piano starts> slow tempo jam> slow fade
*3/ Volcano/Avalanche (5:18) -sax starts on a high note> midtempo hesitating jam morphs into space jam> builds into off-kilter fast tempo jam> morphs into heavy midtempo space jam> quick stop> fade
4/ Percussion/Flute Interlude (2:11) – percussion starts> midtempo duet with flute> fade
**5/ The Sahara (6:31) – sax starts> midtempo off-kilter jam> fade
6/ Soprano Saxophone Interlude (0:59) – sax solo
7/ Grand Canyon/ Mt. Everest (3:56) – horns start hesitantly> molasses slow tempo jam> fade
8/ Drum Interlude (2:18) – drum solo
**9/ Concrete Jungle (5:17) – bass starts> uptempo electric fusion jam> quick fade
*10/ Piano Interlude (2;10) – piano solo starts slow, builds to up tempo> fade
*11/ Dust To Dust (4:20) – bass starts> slow tempo space jam builds in volume, then mellows> crescendo end
12/ Wind Synthesizer Interlude (2:06) – synthesizer solo> morphs into the next track
**13/ Galaxy (5:55) – drums start> rocking uptempo off-kilter am> slow fade
14/ Earth Theme (Reprise) (1:19) – sax starts> slow tempo space jam> fade