VA - King Britt presents The Cosmic Lounge (2007)

Artist: VA
Title Of Album: King Britt presents The Cosmic Lounge Volume One
Year Of Release: 2007-07-17
Label: BBE/Rapster
Genre: Jazz, Spiritual Jazz
Quality/Bitrate: MP3 / VBR kbit/s / 44.1 Khz / Joint Stereo
Total Time: 79:25 min
Total Size: 110 mb

One of the most righteous albums to ever bear the name of King Britt -- a selection of spiritual jazz tracks from the 70s, all of which show a definite inspiration for Britt's recent work in the 21st Century! There's no remixes or remakes here -- and the collection features all original gems from a few decades back -- stretched out and cosmic grooves from some of the leading lights of the soul jazz underground in the post-Coltrane years! Most numbers are obscure tracks licensed from smaller indie labels -- brought together beautifully with a sense of depth and darkness that goes way beyond the usual King Britt groove. Titles include "Space Spy" by Grachan Moncur III, "Beyond Yourself" by Brother Ahh, "Scorpio Libra" by Eddie Henderson, "Kawaida" by Herbie Hancock, "Ekim" by Michal Urbaniak, "Yebo" by Mtume, "Conviction" by Dane Belany, "Naima" by Doug & Jean Carn, "The Time Now For Change" by Phil Ranelin, "Moving Pictures 4 The Ear" by Don Cherry, and "Encounter" by Flora Purim.

Tracklist
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01. Herbie Hancock - Kawaida
02. Michal Urbaniak Group - Ekim
03. Mtume - Yebo
04. Eddie Henderson - Scorpio-Libra
05. Dane Belany - Conviction
06. Don Cherry - Moving Pictures For The Ear
07. Brother Ah - Beyond Yourself
08. Flora Purim - Encounter
09. Grachan Moncur III - Space Spy
10. Phil Ranelin - Time Is Now For Change
11. Doug & Jean Carn - Naima

Release Notes:
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One of the most righteous albums to ever bear the name of King Britt -- a selection of spiritual jazz tracks from the 70s, all of which show a definite inspiration for Britt's recent work in the 21st Century! His latest compilation, The Cosmic Lounge: A Spiritual Quest For Higher Sound, iscomprised of a number of rare and collectable Jazz tracks featuring a host of Jazz legends – Sun Ra, Flora Purim, Phil Ranelin and Don Cherry.

But you really have to be into jazz to appreciate it for this is no normal jazz album. As King Britt explains: “Jazz exists on a personal and spiritual plane for me. There’s something cosmic about the genre’s deeply African American heritage. As an original musical form rooted in instrumental improvisation, jazz is a musical conversation between creative individuals.”

Hence, the likes of Kawaida jostle for position with Eddie Henderson’s Scorpio Libra and Don Cherry’s Moving Pictures For The Ear. But they are very experimental tracks.

Hancock’s album opener Kawaida is very hard work for anyone who likes their music to conform to some kind of structure. It’s a spoken word, mystical track based around musings and a lone flute. But at over seven minutes in length, it really does test the patience. Later on, Dane Belany’s Conviction mixes tribal chanting with more traditional jazz values and a thumping percussion but, again, quickly becomes a difficult listen that’s more likely to annoy than inspire. That’s not to say the compilation isn’t without merit, for King Britt has clearly dug deep to find the 11 tracks that comprise the compilation. But it won’t win anyone over to Jazz as a music form and is really only for the connoisseur among you. I just couldn’t get into it no matter how hard I tried.