Challenging bold conga bongo Art “Turk” Burton – ANCESTRAL SPIRITS: Way, WAY back in the mid-1960’s, my first duty station was in the middle of Virginia, and (for some strange reason) we had a lot of soldiers from Cuba and that general area… so I learned a lot about their high-spirited playing… what Art’s challenging and bold conga and bongo playing does is brings back many memories of those times. Here’s a clip of him playing live (some years back), so you can get acquainted with his energetic and captivating style…
It would have been nice to see some live clips from the new album, but if they are there, I couldn’t locate them… still, though, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to his YouTube channel, so you can see what else he’s offering.
The player list joining Art is extensive… Art Turk Burton-leader, conga and bongo drums, Ari Brown-tenor & soprano sax, Edwin Daugherty-alto and soprano sax, Maggie Brown-vocals, Eddie Beard-piano and organ, Dushun Mosley-drums, Yosef Ben Israel-bass, Sammie “Cha Cha” Torres-conga, Luis “Preito” Rosario-timbales… & on performances like “Night In Tunisia”, they absolutely kill it; the saxophone leads are brilliant and full of life (no samples yet; when I’m told they are ready, I’ll come back and link them in)!
Their iteration of Miles’s “All Blues” is a very unique performance, with great percussion driving the song and all the players showing high talent, to be sure.
The song that easily earned my choice for personal favorite of the eight (long) pieces offered up for your jazz pleasure is the group’s performance of Eddie Harris’s “Listen Here”… down & funky, it’s a perfect tune for cruisin’ ’round in my 1966 Pontiac GTO… one of the best renditions of this piece I’ve ever listened to.
I give Art and his players a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating for this one, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.97. Get more information at Art’s FB page. Rotcod Zzaj
