Bob Burnett: This morning is a case where, for once, MOG's "Just For You" selection process worked. It told me since I listened to Tim Berne's Snakeoil I'd like Gerald Cleaver's Detroit. I didn't know anything about this album before this listen. I think Tom Greenland's review from All About Jazz makes a great point when he says:
Simultaneously mainstream and forward-thinking, self-contained yet open-ended, "Detroit" embodies the currency and vitality of its namesake's hard bop legacy in today's creative music scene.
Since I'm listening on MOG, I'm not getting the benefit of the album
packaging. Apparently there's a photo essay in the liner notes showing dilapidated buildings
and former neighborhoods now shells and ghosts of a time gone by which (as said in Greenland's review) "strikes a melancholy tone, but the music is
anything but."
I'm finding the music reflective. The ballad "Henry" feels like a Detroit version of John Coltrane's New York City reflection "Central Park West". There's plenty of post hard-bop driving, pulsing and interesting music here too.
All and all a nice discovery. Here's hoping MOG's "Just For You" scores a few more for me.
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