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Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse - Cries From Tha Ghetto

Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse | Cries From Tha Ghetto – [Pi Recordings, 2009]

Staying true to his reputation as a post-Lester Bowie-type jazz trumpeter, Corey Wilkes and his band Abstrakt Pulse take cues from hard and post-bop, creative improvised music, and populist latter-period Art Ensemble of Chicago sounds. Alternating between tuneful free music and spontaneously composed snippets, the formidable Wilkes and his quintet keep the music moving forward with vitality and a keen sense of drama. This is an intriguingly put-together group with veteran drummer Isaiah Spencer borrowed from the Ernest Dawkins-led New Horizons Ensemble, along with newcomers Kevin Nabors on tenor sax, guitarist Scott Hesse, and bassist Junius Paul.

The opening “First Mind” gives you a good idea of what is to come, as the band leaps off a post-bop platform in mixed 5/4 and 4/4 meters. A struttin’ and shouted-out attitude reflective of Bowie identifies the very hip “Levitation,” while the outstanding track “Visionary of an Abstrakt” is placed firmly in the straight-ahead hard bop jazz tradition. More of the humorous, sarcastic Bowie/AEC stance is brushed on thick in loose, soulful layers for “Villa Tiamo,” while “Chasin’ LeRoy” is your deep-rooted black-bottom Chicago blues swing, with Wilkes and Nabors chatting along in call-and-response mode. —Michael G. Nastos | AllMusicGuide

..:: Source: AllMusic.com ::..