Sometimes, you hear a record, you ask yourself “Why was this recording done?” Here, unfortunately are two of them.
Guitarist Melvin Taylor wrote and arranged all of the music on this double cd set. He’s got a great sound and definitely has some nice chops. The problem is that he’s surrounded himself with a keyboardist, bassist and drummer that sound like they have their day job doing Persian weddings. The background is so synthetic, kitschy and bland that it actually distracts from the six stringer. Maybe he uses this release as a way of getting some gigs in the Borscht Belt. Ouch!
Drummer Dafnis Prieto is not only an incredible musician, but a gentle and godly young man. He’s put out some wonderful and adventurous jazz albums. This one has him with only Jason Lindner on Keyboards and Memphis-sounding Kokayi on vocals. There are a few instrumentals that sound like garage room jam sessions, and the tunes with Kokayi sound almost like the words were thought up at the moment. Sort of hip hop, rap, soul and street preaching, with more cliché’s being thrown around than a family reunion.
Dafnison Music