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Wow, it’s been quite sometime that we’ve heard an album of this nature that sounds so vintage, yet so modern as to not sound dated, with an extremely authentic flow that’s natural sounding to the ear. Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra is set to drop their latest LP “Pulsion”, which is killer all the way through. This go around the group delves deeper into spiritual jazz, library and film music territory, which translates to a heavy album and right up our alley. This could have very well been a score to any number of films during the period including “They Call Me Mr. Tibbs” starring Sidney Potier and originally scored by Quincy Jones, which is one of our favorites.

 

hot peas and butta ( usa )

 

A.L.V.O. were founded in 2007 and have a core band of 8 members: Masta Conga (perc), Benjamin Peyrot de Gachons (keys), Elvis Martinez Smith, (gtr), Philipe Vernier (sax), Jb Feyt (tpt) , Victor dos santos ( sax ) , Max Hartock ( drum ) and David Battestini Quadri (double bass). Masta Conga  describes it as “a space of creation all around of various revolving musicians according to projects”

At times there are musical moments reminiscent of the 60s or 70s latin jazz and jazz fusion scenes; at others of 80s and 90s experimentation - but always its own vibe. Elements of Cuban big band swing and charanga orchestras meld with ghetto funk; spacey urban dub leads into an afro-antillean requiem and there are suggestions of orishas and hidden ceremonies in the title track.

 

Groovers, Funkers and Jazzheads alike should dig this one…

Glyn Phillips
WorldMusic.co.uk

 

 

 

Lang ist‘s her, dass Frankreich vornehmlich für Baguette, Brie und Bordeaux bekannt war. Heutzutage gibt es von sämtlichen Ausläufern der internationalen Kultur- und Kunstszene ein nationales Pendant. Und was den Australiern die Shaolin Afronauts oder den Engländern die Skeletons sind, schimpft sich zwischen Seine- und Rhone-Delta Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra. Bei ihnen gibt es nebst kreolischen Rhythmuskombinationen, die Brasília in unmittelbarer geografischer Nachbarschaft zu Lagos vermuten lassen, noch eine gehörige Portion cineastisch anmutender Stringarrangements obendrauf. Mit Jazz als Basis klingt es mal nach einem verschollenen Library-Album, nach übersehener 70er Deep-Funk-Scheibe, oder aber wie ein Mitschnitt aus einer Favela, in der gerade für die bevorstehende Batucada geprobt wird. So perkussiv versatil Bandleader Masta Conga diesen babylonischen Rhythmus-Koloss aber auch antreibt, so erfreulich und erstaunlich einheitlich klingt die Platte zugleich. Eine Gratwanderung sondergleichen, bei der dieses imposante 11-köpfige Ungetüm kein einziges Mal ins Wanken kommt. Aber wehe dem, der sich ihm in freier Wildbahn nähert. Ihr werdet schwanken, taumeln und womöglich fallen. Und zwar vor Erschöpfung in eure Betten.

 

frédéric hartmann

HHV mag

Ce jazz-funk boosté aux hormones met le paquet et pioche dans toutes les musiques du monde, l’afro, le jazz, le hiphop, l’orientale. Bref ya de quoi faire !
La structure des morceaux est libérée des codes du jazz, il y a des silences et des breaks qui rappellent la musique de film. Il y a des montées hallucinantes, une véritable orgie de groove et de funk à coup de contrebasse, cuivres, claviers, percussions…


Le très jazzy Onze de France est un régal, hyper bien construit les cuivres font péter la baraque !
Gibbons Dub emprunte les sons chauds made in Africa et revisite l’Afro et le dub superbement.
Requiem pour un Grooveur ce veux plus jazz, toujours avec ces percus très présentes.
La partie batterie+percus est hyper travaillée, les rythmiques trop attendues ont été bannies, la volonté du groupe de faire une musique différente apporte une puissante irréelle au groove.


L’exemple parfait est Dimension 7 qui rebondi d’instrument en instrument, ça balance dans tout les sens, guitare, saxo, flute, violon. Une sorte de battle géante psychédélique !

 

Le disque a été enregistré d’une manière particulière. Masta Conga, le chef de file, à d’abord enregistré les percus, puis ses compères sont passés les uns après les autres en studio pour enregistrer leurs instruments. Un procédé fastidieux et long, certes moins dans l’esprit live du jazz mais qui a permit de décupler la créativité.


Les morceaux ne vont jamais là où on s’y attend parce que les musiciens eux-mêmes ne savaient pas dans quelle direction ils allaient partir au moment de jouer leur partie sur la base rythmique enregistrée en premier.
l’attention particulière portée aux arrangements rend le disque inépuisable.
Un groove qui réveillerait les morts, vous allez passer tout l’été avec ce Last Odyssey, c’est une certitude.

 

Tsik IDM breaks

 

スピリチュアル・ジャズ×アフロ・ファンクな人気バンドが3rd.アルバムをリリース!

10人編成のド迫力サウンドで強力なグルーヴを生み出すパリのアフロ集団の新作。さらにスピリチュアルに進化を遂げた大傑作です!!

アフロ・ビートが急激に盛り上がりを見せ始めた'09年にデビューし たAfro Latin Vintage Orchestraの最新作。前作に続き今回もUbiquityからのリリースです。大所帯メンバーによるド迫力のアフロ・ファンク・グルーヴとスピリ チュアル・ジャズに根ざしたプレイ。さらに深みを増し、またしても素晴らしい内容となっています!! ※ダウンロード・コード付き

 

JETSET RECORDS ( JAPAN )

The title track is quite representative of this entire piece: "Pulsion" opens with Battestini-Quadri's acoustic bass tethered to classic 1960s acoustic jazz but the other instrumentation, directed by Feyt's electric trumpet like a spectral spooky finger, quickly lifts the music like an untied balloon to float away and leave jazz behind. Even though trumpet is the lead instrument, the driving percussion rhythms frequently overtake this tune's center. "Shaman" grows from bass line doubled by piano into a hothouse flower of electric keyboards, growling reeds and other exotic sounds, and then navigates a freeform dialogue between saxophone, percussion and bass before settling into Congas's warm Latin percussion groove. "Shaman" would have also been a great title for this entire set. Rippling currents of electronics, horns, bass and strings set the subsequent soundstage for the cinematic "Drama."

Miles Davis' trumpet sound and fearless explorer's essence (more in feeling than execution) emerge like shadows from "Chroniques Marxiennes" and "French Connexion": Trumpet, piano and strings outline and punctuate the "Chroniques" arrangement, with an electric keyboard solo that conjures the spry and schizophrenic spirit—restless, relentless, irreverent yet respectful—of Chick Corea's work in some of Davis' electronic ensembles. "French Connexion" strips down the instrumentation but not the thick heady atmosphere—flute, trumpet, strings, keyboards and congas float in and out, like musical actors coming and going onstage in a play.

Pulsion is easily one of the most intriguing, entertaining and yet inscrutable sets you'll ever hear. I replied to my musician friend with my own description: If trumpeter Don Cherry recorded an album with Mongo Santamaria as his rhythm section, arranged and with strings by Nino Rota and produced by hip-hop pioneer Greyboy, it would sound like Pulsion. He's probably still laughing at this description, but he didn't disagree with it either.

 

Chris M. Slawecki

(all about jazz.com)

 

New jazz bands often tend to fall back on a groove of the moment, often with picked up prepared ideas, the band’s formula for this album, with a varying contribution between 12 and 20 people, it becomes unclear which part was orchestrated, arranged and composed or improvised, where one of these elements led or one soloist brought in an idea or if all was founded by tunes, groove or rhythms. It remains a fact that the group energy in time and meeting points starts to melt together all these elements in an almost organic way, in a way the listener loses grip on time and time signatures. Let’s say the music continuously, with each track delivers the right mood for grooves, for improvisation, for showing an orchestrated well arranged structure, it hardly is clear how much it is followed or improvised upon, and even though the themes don’t last too many minutes so much happens with it in a short time, where each contributor add their patchwork, it is no longer clear who led what. Vintage is a good word this time. We have the sort of energy big bands that Miles Davis was able to hold together, we also have the funky moods of Herbie Hancock around that time, here it is limited to the opportunity of the groove that expands and is totally overcome its limitations. 

 

http://www.psychemusic.org

 

 

 

 

フランスの人気アフロ・グルーヴ・バンド最新作は、なんとUbiquityから!!

10人編成のド迫力サウンドで強力なグルーヴを生み出すパリのアフロ集団。キラーなD-3をはじめ、本作もアフロ・ファンク+スピリチュアル・ジャズな大傑作です!!

アフロ・ビートが急激に盛り上がりを見せ始めた'09年にリリースさ れたデビュー作『Defenitely Roots』も好評だったAfro Latin Vintage Orchestraの最新作は、なんとUbiquityから!! 大所帯メンバーによるド迫力のアフロ・ファンキー・グルーヴ、ジャズに根ざしたインプロが◎。曲によってはCadetからリリースされたFela Kuti作品というような、ストリングスやスキャットが舞う優美なアレンジも。もちろん現行バンドならではの新鮮なセンスも注入されていて、素晴らしい内 容となっています!! ※ダウンロード・コード付き

 

JET SET RECORDS JAPAN

Les français de Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra, vivent à leur manière leur rève américain avec la sortie de ce troisième album « Last Odyssey », disponible dans les bacs depuis le 17 juillet sur le prestigieux label américain Ubiquity ! (avec notons le la première signature française sur le label !)

Après « Definitely Roots » (2009) et « Ayodegi » (2010), Masta Conga et ses accolytes (dont Elviz Martinez Smith bien connu de notre webzine), reviennent avec un album qui tout en continuant à être inspiré par les influences afro, latines, voire éthiopiennes franchi allégrement l’univers du jazz.

 

Fonkadelica

 

Every new Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra album is a big step forward. Their first release, Definitely Roots, released in 2009, marked the beginning of the adventure led by percussionist and producer Masta Conga, blending many styles - sometimes in the same track - from afrofunk, to latin or ethio grooves, jazz or reggae… The following year, Paris DJs extracted Kingston Abeba from this LP for their cult 21st Century Afro Extravaganza mix. In 2011 the band released Ayodegi, aptly subtitled A Modern Afro-Fusion Ensemble, an instrumental affair, rooted in 70s jazz-funk. It's now followed by this third album, Last Odyssey, to be released on Ubiquity Records mid-july 2012. This long player is the result of Masta Conga's alchemist' work, who first recorded his percussion parts, then added Jean Luc Riga's double bass and Max Hartock's drums, then later Elvis Martinez Smith's guitars and Benjamin Peyrot des Gachons's keys, and a couple of months afterwards the violins, horns, flute and vocals… Sounding like deep and groovy black jazz with a timeless universality, this album is heavily recommended to all jazz fans who'll peel it off year after

 

PARIS DJ

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