Jazz
I thought this CD was generally good. However, I found the rapper to be rather trite. Maybe hackneyed is a better word. I just found him(Whatever his street name is, and it isn't worth the effort to go look on the album cover) to be trying too hard to evoke images of the oppressed rapper with a deep message.
It has been done a lot better by those who sound like they have actually experienced the street life. Even if they haven't actually experienced it either.
The other problem I had with this "rapper" is that there were instances of comments that were racist in nature and I found them to be offensive. The one comment that stands out is the statement in one of his raps that says "coming out of the jungle like JBs" or "jungle bunnies". Now, unless he is referring to James Brown's band from the 70's(which I doubt) this is clearly a racial slur. Having been Black for some 50 years now, I have had first hand experience with racial slurs. So, suffice it to say it lends more truth to the concept that the French are either stupid or just not nice people by using racial slurs in artistic expression.
Aside from the so-called rapper, the music was good and typical of the other works from Truffaz. Plenty of variation in style. Excellent skills, and improvisation. Cut out the rapper songs and it is still good jazz trumpet.
By Unknown.
**
Right from the start of his career, French trumpeter Erik Truffaz made a name for himself as an eclectic artist with a finger in as many different musical pies as he could lay his hands on. Boldly going where few musicians had ever gone before, Truffaz embarked on the most audacious adventures, defying all attempts at categorising him or his elusive sound. The trumpet virtuoso, often described as a "worthy heir to Miles Davis", flew in the face of convention, gaily juggling with a range of different styles - from drum’n bass to electro, hip-hop and rock - and roping them all together with his own particular take on "jazz". Over the years, Truffaz's golden horn staked out its own musical territory as he invented an instantly recognisable sound, built on a thoroughly individual way of approaching harmonies, chords and rhythm. If there's one thing music fans have come to expect from Truffaz it is that this brilliant trumpeter is always there where you least expect him! After dabbling in the Orient with the group Ladyland on his 2005 album Saloua, Truffaz has now teamed up to reform the original quartet featured on The Dawn (1998) and Bending the Corner (1999). In the company of Patrick Muller on keyboards, Marcello Giuliani on bass and Marc Erbetta on drums, the French trumpet star recently went into the studio to record a new album resolutely oriented towards pop.
By Anne-Laure Lemancel.
**
Erik Truffaz- (Trumpet)
Patrick Muller- (Piano and Fender Rhodes)
Marcello Giuliani- (Double Bass and Electro-Acoustic Bass)
Marc Erbetta- (Drums)
Nya- (Vocals)
**
01. Bukowsky-Chapter 1 (Erik Truffaz/Nya) 1:49
02. Yuri's Choice (Marcello Giuliani/Nya) 5:48
03. The Dawn (Erik Truffaz/Marcello Giuliani/Marc Erbetta/Patrick Muller) 5:45
04. Wet in Paris (Erik Truffaz/Nya) 4:44
05. Slim Pickings (Nya) 1:04
06. Round-Trip (Erik Truffaz/Marcello Giuliani/Marc Erbetta/Patrick Muller) 4:34
07. The Mask (Erik Truffaz/Marcello Giuliani/Marc Erbetta/Patrick Muller/Nya) 5:03
08. Free Stylin' (Erik Truffaz/Marcello Giuliani/Marc Erbetta/Patrick Muller/Nya) 3:33
**
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