Brazzy Voices

Personnel includes: The Brazz Brothers, Lester Bowie, Amina Claudine Myers, David Peaston, Famoudou Don Moye, Egil "Bop" Johansen, the Skruk Choir.
Recording information: 02/25/1994/11/11/1994.
Talk about variety -- imagine combining eccentric trumpeter Lester Bowie, organist Amina Claudine Myers, spiritual singer David Peaston, and percussionist Don Moye with a Scandinavian brass quintet (comprised of two sets of brothers), drums, and the 52-voice Skrlik Choir for a set of American/black/African and Norwegian folk music. Somehow it all works on these intriguing and difficult-to-classify concert performances. Bowie has plenty of spots to express himself, Peaston is powerful during his occasional vocals, and, even if the 17-and-a-half-minute "African Roots" (which is largely a percussion/drums feature) is way too long, the results are quite rewarding. Not strictly a jazz record since there are strong traces of both European classical music and religious music in the program, this is the type of CD that should delight listeners who enjoy several diverse areas of music. ~ Scott Yanow