Throttle Elevator Music feat Kamasi Washington: Emergency Exit

Rating: ★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Kamasi Washington (ts)

Label:

Wide Hive

September/2020

Media Format:

CD, DL

Catalogue Number:

WH-0357

RecordDate:

2001-14

Spread out over the best part of 13 years the recording process I for this album suggests a birth complicated by a lack of time, or possibly the star status of saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Fans of his work with West Coast Get Down may be slightly thrown by a distinct change of setting as songwriters Matt Montgomery and Gregory Howe, both multi-instrumentalists, essentially tread a prevailingly indie rock path with occasional detours into dub and thrash, as in the very ballsy ‘Rattle Thicket’.

It is all competently played by well-drilled musicians, but the spark of inspiration is sorely missing. There isn't sufficient melodic substance or improvisatory drive to lift the performances beyond the realm of the listenable and into that of required listening. Maybe a producer with a degree of vision could help to make the most of a band that has obvious skills, but on this evidence doesn't know how best to use them.

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