Soul Pools

LA Weekly April 24, 2003
"... highly disciplined, tightly arranged.. soulful post-bop propelled...by formidable technique. ...it should be a burner, no question. "

Product Description
Babatunde Lea has summoned the spirit of rhythm in the company of Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner, Randy Weston, Van Morrison and many other jazz and world music luminaries. He now leads a new team of all-star talent (Frank Lacy, Ernie Watts, Hilton Ruiz, Jon Benitez, Mario Rivera) through Soul Pools, his diverse debut album on Motéma Music. The Soul Pools "oasis" provides those thirsty for excitement with Babatunde’s solid foundation and shimmering highlights, ably underscored by Ruiz and the rest of the rhythm section, and brightened by the dynamic horn and reed arrangements. Listeners partake of a propulsive ensemble sound with episodes of blithe elegance interspersed with surprise changes in tempo and meter. Lea’s trademark virtuosity reaches new heights here, as he performs simultaneously on drum set and congas, a crowd pleasing technique that can also be heard to great effect on the bonus CD that comes free with Soul Pools. The bonus CD offers an unusual, unique rhythmic arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s "Footprints", captured live at a performance of The Babatunde Lea Quartet in San Francisco on August 4th, 2002. Lea’s touring band, featuring Hilton Ruiz, bassist Geoff Brennan and sax-legend Ernie Watts electrified the audience and may just be one of the hottest acts now available on the international jazz circuit. Says SF Weekly, " Babatunde Lea is a fiery example of everything that's not dead about jazz..."

Soul Pools

Tracks:

Confrontation
Jackie And The Beanstalk
Isabella
Round The World
Whoa Baba!
1055
Ejercito Moreno
Yerba Buena
Outlyer
Soul Pools
Carolyn's Dance

Tracks:

Footprints

Album Description

Babatunde Lea has summoned the spirit of rhythm in the company of Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner, Randy Weston, Van Morrison and many other jazz and world music luminaries. He now leads a new team of all-star talent (Frank Lacy, Ernie Watts, Hilton Ruiz, Jon Benitez, Mario Rivera) through Soul Pools, his diverse debut album on Motéma Music. The Soul Pools "oasis" provides those thirsty for excitement with Babatunde's solid foundation and shimmering highlights, ably underscored by Ruiz and the rest of the rhythm section, and brightened by the dynamic horn and reed arrangements. Listeners partake of a propulsive ensemble sound with episodes of blithe elegance interspersed with surprise changes in tempo and meter. Lea's trademark virtuosity reaches new heights here, as he performs simultaneously on drum set and congas, a crowd pleasing technique that can also be heard to great effect on the bonus CD that comes free with Soul Pools. The bonus CD offers an unusual, unique rhythmic arrangement of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", captured live at a performance of The Babatunde Lea Quartet in San Francisco on August 4th, 2002. Lea's touring band, featuring Hilton Ruiz, bassist Geoff Brennan and sax-legend Ernie Watts electrified the audience and may just be one of the hottest acts now available on the international jazz circuit. Says SF Weekly, " Babatunde Lea is a fiery example of everything that's not dead about jazz..."

Customer Reviews:

Best of the nu generation Latin percussionists.......2003-12-14

With Soul Pools, Babatunde Lea establishes himself as the reigning Latin jazz percussionist on the scene today. His rhythmic conception, steeped in traditional Latin stylings, transcends the genre with hip modern jazz attitudes and the burning arrangements of Ku-Umba Frank Lacy, who also plays a variety of brass, but mainly trombone.

Lea has this unique approach to percussion where he almost equally devides his time between a traditional kit and congas. The results are consistently arresting. The two stars, besides the leader, are Lacy and pianist Hilton Ruiz, who, besides sounding completely energized, plays better than I've ever heard him--incisive soloing and hot ritmo comping. Lacy seems to have found his ideal context, ripping off rock-solid statements wrapped in a deeply burnished 'bone tone. Mario Rivera (sax) is the ringer here--not someone I would've ever considered in a context like this, but he totally acquits himself in this high octane environment, consistenly coming up with provocative solo statements and melding seemlessly into the intricate horn arrangements. The most remarkable number for me is the title tune, which sounds, uncannily, like a lost John Ritter Caribbean Christmas carol and a Yorba hymn all at once. I could do without the two vocal numbers, esp. Lacy's singing--and I use the term advisedly--on "Carolyn's Dance," but the music here is so transcendent that it's not worth docking even a half star.

Plus, there's a bonus live cd--25 minutes of Wayne Shorter's great song, "Footprints," a wonderful vehicle to bring out the fullness of this band's Afro/Latin/jazz sensibilities. It would be great to hear an entire disc of this quartet, live or studio, I don't care. For one thing, Ernie Watts (tenor sax) plays with greater tonal weight and gravitas than Mario Rivera, and once he gets wound up, lets loose with a startling and deeply satisfying eight-minute-long solo. Hilton Ruiz on piano seems to be experiencing a personal renaissence. His solo, featuring lightening single-note runs, intricate left-hand chording, and hot, hot, hot rhythms, reaches a mind-blowing climax with thick, booming chords and some astounding right-hand voicings, with Lea all the time laying down tasty drum figures, proving his mettle on a conventional kit. His solo, a brilliant exercise in polyrhythms and deep groove, morphing at the end into a mesmeric combination of drums and congas, simply amazes. Drum solos seldom do it for me, but this one is extraordinary. Watts and Ruiz come in for final statements and then engage in an incredible four minutes of call and response magic, and the proceedings end on an ecstatic note.

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