Drummer Jemal Ramirez displays a devotion to the vision of Miles Davis on this album of tunes that, while not including compositions by the legendary artist, are filled with a surfeit of material by either alumni artists ones that have taken up his attitude. The beauty of this is the Latin groove factor that Ramirez adds to the mix along with Warren Wolf/vib, Howard Wiley/xax, Joel Behrman/tp, Matthew Clark/p, John Shifflett/b and John Santos/perc.
So, you get a take of Bobby Hutcherson’s “Pomponio” with Wiley’s alto and Behrman’s crisp trumpet crackling over Wolf’s marimba and the leader’s crisp snare. The vibes are bouncing around on “In Case You Missed It” while Ramirez struts the band out for the Afro Cuban sway on Wolf’s “back in the Swing of Things.” Ramirez’s drum does some talking on the intro to Tony Williams’ “Citadel” while a bossa nova accent to “But Beautiful” is a brush stroke of genius. A calypso’d read of Kenny Garrett’s “J’)uvert” has the leader working overtime while the band rides out the blues on the closing “Lodi Huggins.” Everyone gets a chance in the sun, and it’s bright on this session! Whew!
First Orbit Sounds Records