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Title: More fundamental than you might guess.....
Review: The Ritual Trio for this recording consists of Kahil El Zabar on percussion, Ari Brown on sax, and Yosef Ben Israel replacing the departed legend Malachi Favors on bass. The recording is set intimately at the River East Art Center, you can almost feel you are there. For the most part, this is not as "far out" as you might suspect, Kahil's drumming is mostly performed on conga-style African drums and provides a steady underpinning, Ari Brown's sax is generally basic and fine!-fine!-fine!, and Ben Israel's rhythms don't wander too far afield either. Now, for adventure, Mr. Billy Bang scratches in avantly here and there on violin. On "Where Do You Want to Go," the combination is sheer perfection; Billy is the perfect counterpoint, where I want to go is the repeat button. Kahil's verbal testimony is pretty short so, if you prefer your music to be uninterrupted, there isn't a big impediment here, and I believe the man's message deserves to be heard.
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