Gilchrist, Lafayette - Towards The Shining Path
»Imagine pianist Billy Preston in the FBI witness protection program; he hides out in the Washington, D.C. go-go scene and then the jazz underground; he invents an unlikely pseudonym to go with his new style: a sort of twisted, funky, neo-juke-joint avant-gut-bucket. Please meet Lafayette Gilchrist.« -- W. Kim Heron, Detroit Metro Times
»This Baltimore jazz pianist is young enough to root his improvisations in funk rhythms rather than swing, but he's smart enough to give those muscular grooves real melodies and sophisticated harmonies. The result is a breakout project that should transform Gilchrist from local hero into a major jazz figure.« - Geoff Himes, Washington Post
»Rhythms slide from slow strutting blues to staccato hip-hop breaks. Horn sections burst like big-band blossoms only to splinter into wide-screen free-fall soloing. The bass and drums kick up a funky mettle behind Gilchrist's wiggly lines, which hopscotch from stride to vamp to spacey tangents to tight motifs all before you know what's going on. It's a beyond-genre force that runs you over and leaves you flattened with a smile.« - Brett, McCabe, Baltimore City Paper
Baltimore-based pianist Lafayette Gilchrist first burst on to the national jazz scene as a leader in 2004 with the release of his debut album, The Music According To Lafayette Gilchrist. He’d been signed to the eclectic NYC-based independent, HYENA Records, at the suggestion of Living Colour guitarist, Vernon Reid. Gilchrist, who also serves as the pianist in the legendary tenor saxophonist David Murray’s group, had already been making major noise on the Baltimore circuit as one of the hottest young jazz artists to emerge from the city in recent memory. Upon the album’s release, it wasn’t long before his praises were being sung far and wide, and sold out shows were the norm across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Now, Gilchrist returns with his sophomore effort, Towards The Shining Path. As the title suggests, the album is a bold and visionary statement. Echoes of Monk, Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock are present, but also big, fat backbeats that swing and pulse like locomotives. In the hands of Lafayette Gilchrist, it’s a sound like nothing else in modern jazz today!
»This Baltimore jazz pianist is young enough to root his improvisations in funk rhythms rather than swing, but he's smart enough to give those muscular grooves real melodies and sophisticated harmonies. The result is a breakout project that should transform Gilchrist from local hero into a major jazz figure.« - Geoff Himes, Washington Post
»Rhythms slide from slow strutting blues to staccato hip-hop breaks. Horn sections burst like big-band blossoms only to splinter into wide-screen free-fall soloing. The bass and drums kick up a funky mettle behind Gilchrist's wiggly lines, which hopscotch from stride to vamp to spacey tangents to tight motifs all before you know what's going on. It's a beyond-genre force that runs you over and leaves you flattened with a smile.« - Brett, McCabe, Baltimore City Paper
Baltimore-based pianist Lafayette Gilchrist first burst on to the national jazz scene as a leader in 2004 with the release of his debut album, The Music According To Lafayette Gilchrist. He’d been signed to the eclectic NYC-based independent, HYENA Records, at the suggestion of Living Colour guitarist, Vernon Reid. Gilchrist, who also serves as the pianist in the legendary tenor saxophonist David Murray’s group, had already been making major noise on the Baltimore circuit as one of the hottest young jazz artists to emerge from the city in recent memory. Upon the album’s release, it wasn’t long before his praises were being sung far and wide, and sold out shows were the norm across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Now, Gilchrist returns with his sophomore effort, Towards The Shining Path. As the title suggests, the album is a bold and visionary statement. Echoes of Monk, Andrew Hill and Herbie Hancock are present, but also big, fat backbeats that swing and pulse like locomotives. In the hands of Lafayette Gilchrist, it’s a sound like nothing else in modern jazz today!
Skrivet av Håkan Olsson
