Monday, July 30, 2007

"Grooves in the Temple" - Cadence review




Review about Jorge Pescara's album "Grooves in the Temple" (produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro) published in the August 2006 issue of "Cadence" magazine
Cadence vol 32, Nº8, August 2006

Comin' Home Baby / Laura Lee / Miles-Miller / Kashmir / Grooves in the Temple / The Great Emperor of the Bass / Power of Soul / Funchal / Sofisticada / Meteor - Etude for Mr. Pastorius / Black Widow. 70:49

Pescara, el b, stick, el bow, kybd, b, vcl; Ithamara Koorax, Sergio Vid, Guilherme Isnard, vcl; Claudio Zoli, g, vcl; Luiz Bonfa, Dino Rangel, Claudio Kote, Dudu Caribe, g; Andre Gomes, sitar; Eumir Deodato, el p, vcl; Glauton Campello, el p, kybd; Paula Faour, synth; Joao Paulo Mendonça, el p, kybd, flt; Mauricio Barros, org; Dom Um Romao, d, perc, vcl; Nick Remo, Joao Palma, Guto Goffi, Alfredo Dias Gomes, Manny Monteiro, Sergio Nacife, d; Claudio Infante, d, perc; Mila Schiavo, Ricardo Brasil, Laudir de Oliveira, Sidinho Moreira, perc; Akira Akurai, taiko; Jose Carlos ramos, ss as, ts, bari s; Widor Santiago, bari s; Roberto Marques, tbn; Vander Nascimento, flgh; Diogenes de Souza, Fr hn; Jefferson Nery, ob; Sergio Malafaia, bsn; DJ Dudu Dub, turntables. 2000-04, Rio de janeiro, Brazil.

For his debut recording as leader, electric bassist Jorge Pescara drives through a world of Latin Jazz, Soul Jazz, Fusion, Rock, and exotic Pop. The album's title track combines a tradicional Eastern melody and mesmerizing vamps with a Western techno-dance rhythm. Sitar meets trombone, as the leader's electric bass pushes hard. A tribute to the Fusion work of Miles Davis and Marcus Miller, homenage to Jaco Pastorius and Jimi Hendrix, as well as several traces of the leader's Brazilian heritage give the album variety with a contemporary flavor. "Kashmir" and "Power of Soul", the two longest selections of the album, are re-created at the end as bonus vocal tracks with Guilherme Isnard feature on one and Sergio Vid feature on the latter. Both the longer versions and the shorter, vocal arrangements come with a built-in charm that expresses the influences that electric bassists have had on contemporary popular music. Pescara blends his instrumental voice within each ensemble, driving the beat and adding thunderous walls of electric bass power. Two duets with percussionist Dom Um Romao and one with Claudio Infante reveal a lyrical bassist who favors consonant harmonies and a reflective landscape. His legato tones serve to color most selections with a seamless layer of soul. A guest apperance by Luiz Bonfa, on acoustic guitar, finds Pescara walking the bass in a lovely mainstream Jazz affair quite unlike the rest of the session. For the most part, the electric bassist offers soulful grooves that sparkle with fiery energy, a contemporary backbeat, and plenty of amplified sound.

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