Killer Bees - Airto Moreira

Jul

28

Killer Bees - Airto Moreira

≡ Category: 1990s, Free Jazz, Fusion, Jazz Funk, Jazz Rock, Music Reviews, Recommended, World Fusion |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

The Killer Bees project was born as a result of legendary percussionist Airto Moreira’s desire to revisit the days back in the early 70s when the cream of Manhattan’s musicians used to gather in lofts to jam with each other. Such luminaries as Chick Corea, Dave Liebman, Jan Hammer, Dave Holland, Lee Morgan, Cannonball Adderly, Wayne Shorter, Thelonius Monk, Buster Williams, Stanley Clarke would actually play together. Sometimes there would be three drummers. There were no rules!

Similarly, the foundation of Killer Bees (released on the M.E.L.T. 2000 label) is that none of the musicians knew what they were going to play before they played it. There were no lead sheets, no preconceptions.

Of course, much of the music on Killer Bees is modal or impressionistic. It would pretty much have to be that way. But there is a surprising amount of variety. There’s rock, funk, and ambient textures in addition to the expected jazz. Every once in a while, there’s a chord change tune to break things up. According to the liner notes, the chord changes were called right on the spot. The basic modus operandi was that a nucleus of players would jam and then, if called for, musicians would be called in to contribute an overdub or two.

The cast of characters is pretty impressive, just like in the old loft days. Besides Airto Moreira, the musicians include Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Mark Egan, Gary Meek, Hiram Bullock, and Flora Purim.

So, are the results mindblowing? Nah, not like some of the free jazz of the early 70s, like Miles Davis’ sessions from the period or Dave Liebman’s work with Open Sky or Chick Corea’s work with Circle, but then again, most of the musicans on Killer Bees long ago stopped having anything to prove. Most of them are acknowledged jazz giants. On Killer Bees, they’re just having fun. But as you would expect, it’s a pretty high level of fun.

The group interplay is awesome, but the emphasis is different than in the old loft days. Instead of digging into the deeper meanings, trying to get to the heart of what music is all about, playing as if their lives depended on it, these sessions are mostly about being in the moment, creating a vibe or a feel, and in that way they succeed quite well.

For that reason, a lot of these tracks have almost a hypnotic effect. If you aren’t consciously trying to pay attention, tunes can pass you by without you being aware of it. In other words, Killer Bees makes perfectly good background music.

However, if you want to listen closely, it rewards your attention.

Killer Bees doesn’t really recapture the old loft days, but it wasn’t meant to. It was meant to recapture the EXPERIENCE of playing in the lofts for the musicians involved. In other words, this music wasn’t made for an audience, but it’s darn listenable, and you won’t find anything quite like it elsewhere.