Sound & Spirit: CD reviews by Don Strong Soul Manifesto Rodney Jones & Soul Manifesto (Blue Note) In this month, a time of deep introspection, peace and perhaps soul searching, between the end and beginning of a new cycle, our musical message is "The Sound of Soul." But just what is this elusive quality? "Soul" is defined in my dictionary as: "1. The immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life. 2. The spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe. 3. The quality that arouses emotion and sentiment." With this in mind, I've recently had the opportunity to hear some excellent performances in the Twin Cities from innovative musical groups that are playing quintessentially soulful music; music that is spiritual and yet allows one to shake one's groove thang. I've been really satisfied by groups like The Poet Tree (a spoken word/funk ensemble), Movable Feast (contemporary fusion) and master jazz guitarist Rodney Jones' new band, Soul Manifesto Soul Manifesto is like James Brown with cosmic consciousness, and its leader Rodney Jones is a musician on a spiritual mission. Having honed his extraordinary guitar skills with jazz, blues and R&B luminaries such as Dizzy Gillespie, Lena Horne and Maceo Parker, he continues his work in revealing the spiritual nature of jazz. "Sound is the creating and sustaining force in the universe," Jones states. "Music is a personal expression of the Inner Sound, that life energy that has been known to all of the world's religions in one form or another." In the tradition of John Coltrane, Jones makes no separation between the spiritual life and his life as a musician. Having been a lifelong student of the transformative power of sound, Jones has brought this awareness to a virtual who's who in the music industry, touring and recording with artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson and many others. Currently, his day gig is bringing this soulful consciousness of sound to the Rosie O'Donnell Show as a member of her stage band. On Soul Manifesto, Jones musically and philosophically declares his purpose with clear focus: "The New Age is really a term coined to describe the age-old quest of man to know himself. This self-knowledge is at the heart of all art, for art reflects the memory of the Inner glories experienced by the Soul. I am using jazz as a bridge for self-exploration and as a window into a larger room of spiritual exploration." Jazz has long had a spiritual connection, going back to the days of Negro spirituals, but rarely has it been spoken about. "At the core of all of the music that I play is the intent to connect the listener to the Sound Current, this essence of life itself," Jones says. "Whether one calls it a feeling or Spirit this essence is the animating and empowering factor in all music. I make no separation between who I am and the music I play. "I see my role as a bridge, a person standing in the breach between the meaning of the word soul as in 'soul music' and 'soul food' and its meaning as the eternal essence that is each one of us. Most importantly for me, music is a means of exploring our divine nature through the power of sound." I caught Rodney Jones and Soul Manifesto at The Fine Line in Minneapolis with a touring group that differs slightly from the CD. Jones, young blood of the group is at the helm of a ship of senior jazz/funk masters including: James Brown veteran Fred Wesley on trombone (replacing JB partner Maceo Parker's alto) , the amazing, be-turbaned Dr. Lonnie Smith on organ (who unbelievably also covers the bass parts via foot pedals) , Idris Muhammad on drums and avant-garde jazz sax virtuoso Arthur Blythe. This is what I heard from Soul Manifesto: The groove inside Manu Dibango's Afro-funk classic "Soul Makossa" pulsates like an electric blanket on fire. It's chock full of what us guitar players call chicken pickin'. Tasty! "Groove Bone" preaches the gospel of the groove. The great jazz organist Mel Rhyne once told me, "In the right hands, a Hammond B3 with a Leslie (an amplifier about the size of a washing machine that rotates sound in spirals) can make you feel the holy ghost." With Dr. Lonnie Smith, not only do you feel it, you hear it and and see it. Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine" opens with a plaintive musical quote from Miles Davis's "Blue in Green," then segues into the slow plantive blues we thought we knew. Dr. Smith coaxes long, serpentine minor melodies from the B3 like a snake charmer's flute. The effect transports me from a dark, smoky music club to some misty, etheric inner world dancing with light. On "Soup Bone," we get a down-home Ruth Brown-style blues shuffle with a few good twists to the left. It starts melodic and funky, in the pocket, finger poppin' and head noddin'. Then through the magic of Jones's guitar leads that cook and skitter like plump chicken wings on a greased, red-hot skillet, the music goes waaaaaay east (maybe Tunisia?) and a good deal south (probably Atlantis or Alabama). Dr. Smith's B3 weeps, cries, shouts, exclaims praise while Idris Muhammad kicks accents until the congregation just has to shout "amen!" The notes from the guitar float out into the room, electric bubbles on a carpet of light. The B3 organ breathes a smooth wave, a blanket that undulates, snakes sinuous into the blackness. The trombone, an insistent clear call, is all blue and golden. As the hip-hop generation says, "It's all good." Rodney Jones' new Blue Note CD, "Soul Manifesto," is available at local music retailers or via the net at www.soulmanifesto.com. I enthusiastically suggest it will be a soulful and uplifting addition to your music library. Don Strong composes music scores for film and theatre, produces CDs for Chanhassen Melody/DSP Records, performs jazz, teaches creativity workshops and volunteers as an ordained member of the clergy. He can be reached via his website at www.StrongMusic4Media.com Copyright © 2002 Don Strong |
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