ROB MULLINS: "Dance for the New World" (Zebra)
"One of the true unsung
heroes of contemporary jazz, Mullins,
a keyboardist of diverse skills,
has had poor luck with distrbution in the past. Hopefully, in signing
with Zebra, Mullins will
find more partners for his elegant, funky, bold, and often humorous
dance.
This new CD impressively incorporates samba, Latina, and
African rhythms with Crusaders-influenced
soul. Mullins also impresses with his consistent ability to interact
intelligently with the horns.
He and tenor
saxophonist Wilton Felder capture a vibe reminiscent of Joe
Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"
on the opener, "Obsession", and Eric Marienthal
(soprano and tenor) matches Mullins note for
note on the Latin sizzler "Island Girls".
Hollis Gentry's soprano adds eloquence to the
laid-back "Wednesday", and Greg Vail's tenor
parties hard with Mullins on the one true funk piece, "Bustin'
Out".
And on "To Begin Again," Tony Guerrero's
trumpet plays along with Mullins' synth-horns.
These are all pretty impressive collaborations, but Mullins
is at his best on the urban-flavored title
cut, a duet that breaks in the middle for a transcendent solo by
violinist Mark Cargill."
-Jonathan Widran
return to
planetmullins homepage
read
another review of rob's new cd ( look back a couple months)
return to map of planetmullins