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From a lot of the new CDs coming out these days you can’t help but notice a popular trend amongst the nu jazz crowd, as well as the post 70s fusion bands, is dark ambient flavored jams led by an electronic trumpet player. Miles Davis’ mid-70s psychedelic rock band may have had zero impact on the world of jazz back in its day, but its legacy has grown in modern times to one of today’s most influential groups in the world of fusion. Today’s nu jazz bands also look to the sonic electronic trumpet explorations of Jon Hassel and Don Cherry too. With a lot of artists exploring this sort of sound, there will be those artists that stand out from the crowd and one of those is Naked Truth, particularly on their new CD “Ouroboros”.
“Ouroboros” has a massive sound that may seem formidable at first, but repeat listens begin to unveil the creative mysteries and variations in texture that keep things interesting. Although all the musicians on here are great, the real star is trumpeter Graham Haynes. Graham is very capable of high speed bop/fusion runs, but he keeps all that in check as he provides just the right long held tones with perfect timing. Unlike most nu jazz trumpeters, Haynes eschews the typical breathy sound and goes for a full brassy sound that is more Freddie Hubbard than ECM. Haynes' subtly echoed tone is one of the nicest I’ve heard in a while and his mature soulful timing is what makes this whole thing click. The rest of this all-star band provides creative electronic backdrops, particularly Roy Powell with his non-cliché approach to classic keyboards and drummer Pat Mastelotto with his subtle techno sounds. Bassist Lorenzo Feliciati leads the crew and adds tasteful post-rock guitar chimes.
There is a nice variety of music on here ranging from heavy dub, to psychedelic fusion grooves, twisted avant-garde rock and more. I think one of the nicest things I can say about a piece of music is that the more I listen to this, the more I like it.