THE AVENGERS — On a Mission (review)

THE AVENGERS — On a Mission album cover Album · 2012 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
kev rowland
This is the debut album by a jazz-fusion supergroup that has been put together by Uruguayan guitarist Beledo, with Adam Holzman (keys), Lincoln Goines (bass) and Kim Plainfield (drums). It would take too long to list all of the people these guys have played with, but just mentioning Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie should be enough to get you paying attention. I was playing this in the car the other day waiting for one of my daughters, and when she returned she was dismayed to find me with my eyes closed, moving gently to the music, and asked me if I was okay. I was more than okay, I had been taken to a different world altogether. Sometimes an album just grabs hold of you and refuses to let you go, transporting you through time and space to a dimension where nothing else matters apart from the music, and that is very much the case here.

I can’t explain what this album does to me, whether it is Beledo’s incredible fluidity or the way that Adam can switch between supporting roles and lead in his own right, or that the band just seem to be so incredibly tight. The photo of the band in the booklet shows them all facing each other as they record – no messing about here, this is all about interaction and a band actually being in the studio at the same time. We have all heard stories of drummers recording their parts and then disappearing until it is time to hear the final playback (read Peter Criss’s biography), but this album is organic and warm as everyone knows their part but plays not as an individual but very much as part of the band.

Adam was Miles’ keyboard player when they recorded ‘Tutu’, and on this album we find a version of “Portia”, which of course also appeared on that work. OF course, the instrumentation is now somewhat different and Beledo and Adam make this very much their own. This is an absolutely stunning piece of work, and fans of jazz-fusion need look no further. www.theavengersband.com
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Chateau Post-Fusion Contemporary
LUIZ AVELLAR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Gratitude Pop/Art Song/Folk
LUIZ AVELLAR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Possession Nu Jazz
SHABAKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Trio Plays Standards Post Bop
PABLO HELD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Unity Post-Fusion Contemporary
PABLO HELD
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Shabaka - Timepieces (Visualizer) ft. Billy Woods
SHABAKA
snobb· 11 hours ago
Raw Blues 2 Promo
DOUG MACLEOD
js· 15 hours ago
All I Had Was The Blues
DOUG MACLEOD
js· 15 hours ago
El Ausente - Classico Latino live in Colombia
CLASSICO LATINO
js· 1 day ago
Barbara Blue - Sweet, Strong & Tight
BARBARA BLUE
js· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed