Dark Grooves - Mystical Rhythms

Dark Grooves - Mystical Rhythms

ASIN: B00000JPYS

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Pianist James Hurt's Blue Note debut, Dark Grooves, Mystical Rhythms, shows that the young pianist is adept not only in his heavily percussive and rhythmic soloing style, but also in crafting intricate compositions out of the varied rhythms found all over the disc. With 12 original Hurt compositions, the album is stocked with a mix of seasoned (though young) veterans and some of New York's freshest talent: alto saxophonists Antonio Hart and Abraham Burton, drummers Eric McPherson and Nasheet Waits, and bassist Eric Reevis, among many others, all make appearances in lineups that range from trio settings to full-blown septet arrangements. But the star of the show here is the groove, which Hurt does a masterful job of employing. His achievement is in building tunes from the ground up, starting with the syncopated funk groove of "Neptune" or the reggae-to-Latin bounce of "The Tree of Life" and building intricate arrangements around each rhythm. The end result is that Dark Grooves, Mystical Rhythms is that rare jazz album that employs funk grooves but doesn't come across sounding like a forced hybrid--instead, the rhythms here flow naturally and all sound like integral parts of each tune. --Ezra Gale

Dark Grooves - Mystical Rhythms,James Hurt,Blue Note Records,Contemporary Jazz,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Average customer rating:

SoulSista's (aka Leslie Frierson) review

Radio Encounter

Thump Jazz, Slick Slick Slick!

A journey into the possibilities of rhythm

Musical Renewal

Dark Grooves - Mystical Rhythms
James Hurt
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Blue Note Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000JPYS
Release Date: 1999-08-10

Tracks:

Neptune
The Tree Of Life
Waterfall
Mars
Jupiter
Eleven Dreams
Venus
Dark Nines
Faith
Pyramids
Orion's View
Sun Day

Amazon.com

Pianist James Hurt's Blue Note debut, Dark Grooves, Mystical Rhythms, shows that the young pianist is adept not only in his heavily percussive and rhythmic soloing style, but also in crafting intricate compositions out of the varied rhythms found all over the disc. With 12 original Hurt compositions, the album is stocked with a mix of seasoned (though young) veterans and some of New York's freshest talent: alto saxophonists Antonio Hart and Abraham Burton, drummers Eric McPherson and Nasheet Waits, and bassist Eric Reevis, among many others, all make appearances in lineups that range from trio settings to full-blown septet arrangements. But the star of the show here is the groove, which Hurt does a masterful job of employing. His achievement is in building tunes from the ground up, starting with the syncopated funk groove of "Neptune" or the reggae-to-Latin bounce of "The Tree of Life" and building intricate arrangements around each rhythm. The end result is that Dark Grooves, Mystical Rhythms is that rare jazz album that employs funk grooves but doesn't come across sounding like a forced hybrid--instead, the rhythms here flow naturally and all sound like integral parts of each tune. --Ezra Gale

Customer Reviews:

SoulSista's (aka Leslie Frierson) review.......2006-07-19

If "Hurt" should ever read this review..."What up Hurt?" I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Hurt while he was a student at TSU and playing drums for our church. I knew he would be great and make a name for himself then. I too, have had this album for quite some time and have been waiting patiently for more. He is a talented pianist and all around musician. Love tracks 1,2,6 and 7. This album stays in rotation.

Radio Encounter.......2006-03-27

I remember I was a junior in a college when I encountered this album. It was during a late night study session in my dining room. My little CD/Radio boombox tuned into NPR. It was a Sunday night and a jazz program featuring this new artist James Hurt was on. I have to say that was one of the most magical and spontaneously inspired study sessions I had. I was reading Phenomenology of Perception, no less.

I decided to write a review (even though I've had it for 7 years) after rearranging my music collection and seeing this gem. It brought back many fond memories of my budding tastes for eclectic sounds and music.

The ingenuity of this album is in Hurt's ability to play with and push the boundaries of rhythm. His skills as a pianist are impressively intoxicating. I recommend this album to jazz novices and deeply grounded aficionados alike. If you are new to jazz, this album might be a bit of an overwhelming taste. For example, I bought Coltrane's Meditations before a lot of his earlier work and was a bit jarred. Not to say that this album would do that. I think it is relatively accessible to many tastes. Just an observation and opinion on my part. More seasoned jazzheads will enjoy this and will be attuned to the nice little nuances of tempo. All in all, it adds a refreshing sound to any collection.

Thump Jazz, Slick Slick Slick!.......2002-04-26

Great musicianship. Slick tracks. Total Album Continuity. Tight. Funky. Swingin. Been listening to it consistently since I bought it several months ago. Do you dig Sun Ra?

A journey into the possibilities of rhythm.......2000-04-18

The Blue Note debut of pianist James Hurt shows, right from the very opening, the approach chosen to to integrate some qualities that seem to be lost in contemporary jazz: a relentless though inventive compositional sense, a challenging rhytmic structure and inspired soloists. Also, he incorporates elements of such diverse origins as Dollar Brand's afro innovations and montuno-inspired rhytmic inflections. Best of all, the results are a pleasure to listen. The muscular backing band, with concise though inspired interventions by reed men Antonio Hart, Jacques Schwarz-Bart and Abraham Burton, display here a rare level of interplay that only enhances Hurt's original compositions. They're ever daring, but Hurt's inventiveness never gets in the way of the music. All in all, a splendid debut.

Musical Renewal.......1999-12-16

When Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk sat at their instruments, they did not attempt to play jazz. They strove to play the music closest to their hearts and their community, to render and interpret with as diverse a palette as possible. But out of their efforts came an idiom. It's fortunate that recently so many talents have again sought a mastery of this tradition; Languages only live if they are spoken (and there are some ideas that die with the death of a language). However, this admirable pursuit has its pitfalls. One of the greatest of these is that the imitation required for an understanding of the music's inner workings becomes an end in itself. We can spend a lifetime learning the rules, and never play the game.

Every so often through grace and toil comes a person whose understanding of the idiom runs so broad and so deep that he or she stops trying to play jazz. Through a mastery of the language and its grammar and a deeply personal relationship to a past and present musical community, this artist finds his or her self at the original intention, the seed; To create with as diverse a palette as possible, to sound out and give form to what lies outside the limits of spoken language. This music is not governed by stylistic rules and conventions, but by an emotional neccessity. In this way the idiom is expanded and renewed.

Mr. Hurt has also recorded with Russell Gunn, Antonio Hart, Sherman Irby and Frank Foster, to name a few. But no prior experience with his playing could prepare the listener for his debut as a leader on Blue Note records, "Dark Grooves-Mystical Rhythms." The twelve original compositions are all played live and acoustic. Funky odd-meter break beats give way to lilting Afro-Cuban influenced patterns and collective improvisation. From the pastoral polyrhythms and plaintive melody of "Jupiter" to the stark simplicity of the Upright Bass-Piano duo "Eleven Dreams" this is music of dynamic contrast and impeccable technique. Though many of the compositions are in time signatures generally unfamiliar to Western ears, they always move in circles and waves, but with a bounce that owes as much to hip hop as to jazz. A sense of space and lyricism pervades even at moments of intense harmonic density and experimentation. At times Hurt plays with a speed to rival Oscar Peterson (Or his fellow Memphis native Phineas Newborn) but there is always a sense of economy and focus to his playing.

Even During the most intricately arranged sections, a sense of interactive play and risk taking emerge; In "Faith," The interlocked opening groove is reduced by each musician note by note like bricks pulled from a loosely mortared wall. One can sense the smiles in the studio as the musicians dare each other to pull one more.

The exceptional core group (Francois Moutin on Bass, Ari Hoenig on drums, and Jacques Schwarz-Bart on tenor) is suplemented with appearances by Antonio Hart, Sherman Irby, Russell Gunn, Nasheet Waits, and Eric Revis, among many others.

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