Here's a rather unique release from the Svart Records camp, once again showing us why they have one of the most varied rosters of artists going today. Nomadic is the new album from the collaboration of 82 year old jazz legend Sonny Simmons and the French bass-drums-sitar trio known as Moksha Samnyasin (Thomas Bellier, Sebastien Bismuth, Michel Kristof.) Recording with a 'who's who' of notable jazz artists over the years, Simmons' form of free-jazz collides with the hypnotic, psychedelic, and Middle Eastern tones of Moksha Samnyasin for an unsettling, chilling, yet ultimately fascinating listen.
Simmons' alto sax and English horn drift over alluring sitar and tribal rhythms on the hypnotic "Help Them Through This World", a near 15-minute journey into far away lands and the nightmarish recesses of your mind. "We Are Entering The Place Of That" is much more meditative in scope, as tranquil sax melodies squonk over mesmerizing rhythms, with that Middle Eastern element ever present, and the dark, disturbing "I Put It In A Dark Area Where I Don't Remember No" puts the listener on a drug induced, hazy journey across a vast, endless desert, with no water or shade in sight, just never ending sand and pounding heat. Mesmerizing stuff. The albums really only 'upbeat' moments come on "When It Comes, I Don't Fight It", as acrobatic drums fills, lean bass lines, and squealing lines from Simmons provide for spooky, free-jazz frenzy.
The press info describes Nomadic as "peyote-laced Bitches Brew". and that's probably not too far from the truth. While I would have liked to have heard a little more variety on some of the tempos here, for the most part this is a pretty intriguing set of psychedelic jazz that is well worth your attention. To top it all off, get a load of that amazing cover artwork by renowned artist Tokyo Ayoama.
Track Listing
1) Help Them Through This World
2) We Are Entering The Place Of That
3) I Put It In A Dark Area Where I Don't Remember No
4) When It Comes, I Don't Fight It
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