Having spent tie with the likes of Stanley Clarke and Kamasi Washington, pianist Cameron graves released an impressive debut album last year (Seven) which included the leader with his team of Max Gerl/b, Colin Cook/g and Mike Mithell/dr and guest Washington on tenor. This followup release shows what he and his team (without Washington) can do in concert format, including many of the previous albums pieces with a few crowd pleasing surprises.
There is a palpable intensity to pieces such as the fiery and rapid “Sacred Spheres” with fingers faster than the eyes, while Cook adds some sinewy guitar to the Return to Forever-ish fusion onf “Planetary Prince” and the jagged “Sons of Creation”. Mitchell goes in to high hat overdrive on the latter, while tapping into his inner Neal Pert on the festive “Red”. Gerl supplies the thunder for the funky “The Life Carrier” as the leader directs traffic throughout like a Neopolitan policeman, pretty on the long jam of “The End of Corporatism” and building up the 23 minute opus into an intensity passed on to each member to get a searing aria. Graves knows when to go let go acoustically into a frenzy as on “Mansion World” or to plug in and rock out. The sparks are flying!