Omri Ziegele/Yves Theiler/Dario Sisera Where's Africa?: Going South

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Dario Sisera (d)
Omri Ziegele (as, uzbek f, v)
Yves Theiler (ky, v)

Label:

Intakt

May/2018

Catalogue Number:

CD284/2017

RecordDate:

2016

The power of three is well to the four here, mostly because Yves Theiler's strident keyboard bass and synths summon the sound of a virtual quartet on an offering that stands practically as an update of some of the sophisto-groove territory covered by such as Don Cherry and Okay Temiz back in the 1970s and 1980s. There is a hard-edged attack that draws on anything from funk to African and Caribbean rhythms, thus providing a springboard to Omri Ziegele's alto sax. The reed takes an effective lead on many an occasion and is well supported by Dario Sisera's punchy drumming. Also pleasing are the much more plaintive textures fashioned by Theiler's melodica, which combines with the horn in a sprightly twist of gypsy romance. However, the unfortunate misstep is the use of vocals from the aforementioned, as they don't really enhance the arrangements in any substantial way. Given the strong nucleus created by the trio it would be interesting to hear the result of a collaboration with a much stronger singer or another player. Alternatively, the best of the nine tracks could have been cherry-picked for an EP or 12″ single, like we used to buy back in the day.

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