| Mitchell, Nicole / Black Earth Ensemble / Xenogenesis Suite |
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| Album: | Xenogenesis Suite | Collection: | Jazz | |
| Artist: | Mitchell, Nicole / Black Earth Ensemble | Added: | 05/2008 | |
| Label: | Firehouse 12 | |||
| A-File Activity |
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| Add Date: | 2008-06-08 | Pull Date: | 2008-08-10 | Charts: | Jazz |
| Week Ending: | 10 Aug | 13 Jul | 6 Jul | 29 Jun | 15 Jun |
| Airplays: | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Nov 14, 2008: | Memory Select Smell Of Fear | 4. | Jul 04, 2008: | Memory Select Transition C | |
| 2. | Aug 05, 2008: | Streams, Highways Redux Wonder | 5. | Jun 27, 2008: | Memory Select Wonder | |
| 3. | Jul 11, 2008: | Memory Select Dawn Of A New Life | 6. | Jun 13, 2008: | Memory Select Adrenalin |
| Album Review |
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| Craig Matsumoto Reviewed 2008-06-01 | ||
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Free-jazz suite well rooted in a classic '60s sound, but with a restrained kind of craziness that unfolds organically. The band is an all-acoustic nonet drawn from the rich Chicago jazz scene; the sound features horns, piano, and (mostly) wordless vocal keening. It's dedicated to Octavia Butler, an acclaimed black female sci-fi writer. The vocalist, Ndosi, is meant to portray a lone human in an alien environment (played by the instruments), reflecting all the emotions that such a person would feel -- track 6 seems to exemplify the concept well. Nicole Mitchell - flute David Boykin - tenor sax David Young - trumpet Mankwe Ndosi - voice Tomeka Reid - cello Justin Dillard - piano Josh Abrams - bass Marcus Evans - drums Avreeayl Ra - percussion 1- Blossoms into some spiky free improvising; horns blare some long tones that keep it grounded in '60s jazz. 2- Slowly chiming horn tones, into a tense gallop. Very quiet start. 3- Low-key, a nice thoughtful passage with a steady beat and some ghostly sounds 4- Gently jumbly, a bit chaotic but not wild. 5- Sparse. Reverent drumbeats, occasional groany sound bursts. 6- Nice but slightly eerie groove against crazed, even panicky vocals 7- A nicely rolling groove, easygoing mid/fast. Lots of swirling flute, some splashy piano slaps 8- Relaxed, hypnotizing riff... then some BLASTS, each followed by quiet aftermath. Unsettling, or at least startling 9- A dark, gentle swirl, a grand feel with some spoken word. Seems like the opening to a grand unknown, rather than a resolution. | ||
| Track Listing |
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| 1. | Wonder | 5. | Oankali | |||
| 2. | Transition A | 6. | Adrenalin | |||
| 3. | Smell Of Fear | 7. | Transition C | |||
| 4. | Sequence Shadows | 8. | Before And After | |||
| 9. | Dawn Of A New Life | |||||