AIRTO MOREIRA — Virgin Land (review)

AIRTO MOREIRA — Virgin Land album cover Album · 1974 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
Apparently, Airto’s tenure with CTI didn’t last all that long, since 74’s Virgin Land album was released on the CTI-subsidiary Kudu-Salvation label, but this included a fairly different set of supporting guest musicians, with only wife Flora and bassist Stanley Clarke present from the CTI days. But other well-known guest include George Duke, David Amaro, and Billy Cobham behind the production desk in Hendrix’ old Electric Lady studios.

Opening on the ultra-funk of the Clarke-penned 100 MPH Stanley’s Tune, Virgin Land is off to a flying start, only to be confirmed with the DeLorme–written Musikana that seems to be written for (unannounced) didgeridoo. Closing the A-side is the Santana-inspired title track (just after a rather free-dissonant intro), where Airto’s bass vocals provide some cool sonic effects, and we’re crossing the desert on a Caravanserai trip.

On the flipside, there are four (relatively) shorter tracks, the first of which is a Klezmer-infected fast funk (almost disco) groove Peasant Dance from Milcho Leviev (on keyboards) with some clarinet to boot. The gentler slightly mid-eastern infected Lydian Riff follows, but the track s too long for its own good, despite some far-tripping light Egyptian ambiances. Things pick up with the upbeat Hot Sand, a funky Arp-synth-dominated (courtesy of Duke) piece, where Airto’s percussions and vocals are all over the place. The closing and rockier Don’t Have To Do sounds a bit like a Peter Frampton tune, with a vocoder-guitar coming alive throughout the track, sometimes underlined by a mellotron. Weird stuff.

A rather strange album, definitely more even than the schizophrenic Free album, Virgin Land can’t really be called JR/F, but it doesn’t fit the funk-soul-jazz mould either, but it’s probably Airto’s finer solo album discography moment.
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

Alberto Nemo, Claudio Milano (with borda), Niccolò Clemente : Frattura, Comparsa, Dissolvenza Jazz Related Improv/Composition
CLAUDIO MILANO (NICHELODEON)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Shapes of Silence (live) World Fusion
ALEPH QUINTET
Buy this album from MMA partners
Horizons Held Close Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TRANCE MAP (EVAN PARKER AND MATTHEW WRIGHT)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Puttin' On the Ritz Classic (1920s) Jazz
THE NEW WONDERS
Buy this album from MMA partners
異響同塵~Different echoes in the same dust~ Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TOSHI TSUCHITORI 土取利行
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Puttin' On The Ritz
THE NEW WONDERS
js· 12 hours ago
Wet Weather Wet
THE WRONG OBJECT
js· 1 day ago
Michael Kiwanuka - Lowdown (parts i and ii)
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
js· 1 day ago
Who Needs You (Billie Holiday-Jeanne Burns) by Ineza with Alex Webb & The Copasetics
INEZA (INEZA KERSCHKAMP)
js· 2 days ago
Notbad
PEELA
js· 2 days 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