There is an autobiographical element to this five-track release during which we hear soul music’s broad church dissolved into its component parts. We journey not through DEREK LASSITER’S life, but instead explore the ingredients of his organic musical concoction.
‘Witness’ is perhaps predominantly a marriage of jazz with gospel, but the collaboration with blues legend Lady Mem’fis is apparent right from the opening bars of ‘Hunger’ as it seeks to document the struggles and uncertainty of a childhood spent mostly in foster care.
Tom Freund’s ultra-deep harmonies make a stunning organic bassline; Lassiter’s delivery is velvet, and almost falsetto, already ethereal - only determination left by the absence of bitterness or resentment.
‘Pool’ opens with a gentle arpeggio, and gentle African percussion sounds and rhythms wind around it as they grow like ivy, creating a spiritual glow for the breezy soul hook within. It’s a swinging stopwatch, and as the trancelike natural vibe alters your perception, the low end of the piano strikes up a funereal pantomime as brushes pick the shuffling off-beat from the drums.
Winding, living and breathing of it’s own accord now, jazzy fills increase the experimental feel of the music, though simultaneously convention is observed to the letter. Walls of harmony create a glorious and deeply moving gospel shift around halfway through the record. Lady Mem’fis is on fine form; both that growl and her murmured incantations resonate as the music is flooded with a euphoric rush of Divine Energy.
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The outstanding double-bass/tambourine/handclap jam of ‘Victor (I Am Waiting)’ is sheer magic; the sparseness leaving acres of room for soul's godlike power to breathe fully throughout. ‘Keep Me’, cleverly, rests in Lassiter’s ability to carry a show tune - you sense the stagecraft at work as the stage-musical sound builds itself around his voice as it effortlessly negotiates scales with the hazy piano in pursuit a fraction of a bar behind.
Soulful and brimming with Faith, the whole thing vibrates with a gorgeous other-worldliness that had me checking the CD cover for any signs of angel’s wings!
Naturally free flowing and with all its sub-genres flowing in harmony like the colours of the rainbow, this will get into you before you get into it. Stunning.
http://dereklassiter.com/
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