Crisis & Opportunity Vol 1

£17.99

Format: LP, Vinyl

Out of stock

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Format: LP, Vinyl
Grade: New (About gradings)
SKU: 56325
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World-renowned drummer Myele Manzanza has made a musical splash over the past few years since landing in London from his native New Zealand. He has gained the reputation as one of the brightest lights on the British Jazz scene, certainly one of its most skilled players.

Manzanza, son of the Congolese percussionist Sam Manzanza, is a powerful presence on the international Jazz stage, an inventive and dynamic drummer with an idiosyncratic style of playing. Crisis and Opportunity Vol. 1 features Ashley Henry (Piano), James Copus (trumpet), George Crowley (tenor saxophone), Benjamin Muralt (bass) and Mark de Clive-Lowe (synths), with Manzanza holding things down on the trap-kit.

The set begins with the crisp stepper Big Deal 2 (Bigger Deals) which at 11 minutes long allows ample time for the players to introduce themselves with elongated solo sections enabling some fantastic dialogues from Crowley, Henry and Copus respectively,  Crowley is especially impressive on Tenor sax. This cat can blow… London seems to be a continued source of inspiration for Manzanza, the following track ‘Portobello Superhero’ capturing a bustling Saturday market with de Clive Lowe’s swirling synth work honing in on the geography of the track and identifying with raw rhythmical and tonal influences from the West London school of Broken Beat. ‘Brixton Blues’ is a low kilter mood-setter, a cool and understated cut in which Henry’s keys effervesce throughout. ‘London’ shares similar themes, minor key stabs placed alongside a shuffling four-to-the-floor drum pattern keep the track swaying, with de Clive Lowe’s oscillating synth passes sounding like the whoosh of late night traffic hurtling down the Westway. The title track, ‘Crisis & Opportunity’ is as close as the album gets towards Spiritual Jazz, with Henry offering up some intense dialogue at the start of the track, veering off into pan-classical modes at times before all of the album’s members come together for a soaring crescendo. London and the wellspring of new British Jazz talent that has come through over the past decade or so is perhaps a reason why Myele might find himself in the capital…

Crisis and Opportunity Vol. 1, is one of the top new Jazz releases of the year, showcasing an outstanding talent and some of the top players on the scene currently.Keep your eyes out for an in store event with Myele Manzanza coming to Soul Brother Records for an Album Q/A and signing of the second incarnation of Crisis & Opportunity (Volume 2). This should happen in late November / early December

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