snobb
I have heard Steve Coleman and his Five Elements playing live just a few weeks after he recorded this new material for what later became "Synovial Joints", and to be honest I was a really critical when started listening to this, his newest release to time.
It's not like I was seriously disappointed with Coleman's gig, better to say - I was quite seriously surprised. Excellent combo played in overcrowded Drama Theater hall with coldness I can hardly remember in any jazz concert ever. Technically great musicians demonstrated quite interesting musical ideas but tried hard to isolate themselves from any public emotions, or probably - to isolate public from anything different than their calculated (and often quite repetitive) sound.
So, when Coleman's new album has been released I have been thinking more than once if I really want to hear it. Probably, the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award Steve received earlier this year pushed me to give this music a chance. It took weeks for me to accept and appreciate new album's music, but now I can say - yes, it's a good album.
What Steve did first of all recording "Synovial Joints" is the increase of the number of band members. In fact, he used his regular "Five Elements" as basis and recruited lot of new artists(many of them already played with Steve in his other projects), up to 21 in total. As a result, Coleman's biggest band ever plays his usual math / calculated compositions with richer arrangements, but what is more important - whole sound is warmer and even mellower (what sounds more than unusual speaking about Steve Coleman music).
Attentive listener will notice that there are more improvisational components, than in many of Steve previous works, and at the same time he uses unusually much classic orchestration here. Add some Latin tunes and you got the new Steve Coleman's music - warmer, more lively and much more attractive because of that.
Newbies to Coleman's music still most probably will notice how angular new album sounds, those familiar with his previous aesthetics most probably will enjoy how more humane this album sounds still being with no doubt same Steve Coleman's music.