RXB3
Ubuntu, 2021
8/10
A Brooklyn based artist who has spent time in India recording raga-jazz records, Richard X Bennett returns here with Adam Armstrong and Julian Edmond for a piano focused listen that explores poly-rhythm and grooves in his inimitable vision.
Bennett starts the listen with the warm, fluent piano and shuffling pace of the jazz influenced “I Come From The Future”, which flows with incredible synergy between the trio, and “This Is My Code” follows with a bouncy spirit that benefits from Edmond’s very well executed drumming and Armstrong’s precisely plucked bass.
Near the middle, “One Voice” flows with an emotive quality amid calm melody and gentle interplay, while “Made From Stone” gets playful, upbeat and extremely precise in its fuller atmosphere. “Vape”, one of the album’s best, then displays Bennett’s melodica prowess on the dreamy, elegant standout track.
Residing near the end, Bennett’s key acrobatics on “Plastique” mesh well with the firm drumming and strategic bass, and “Tum Hi Ho”, the lone cover, exits the listen with both waves of tension and beauty as Bennett reworks the modern Bollywood standard in a captivating, highly creative light.
An artist who rarely sits in one genre long, expect funk, classical, gospel and raga traces in these unpredictable, jazz rooted tracks, as Bennett brings a worldly approach to his unconventional, artistic song craft.
Travels well with: Avishai Cohen- Two Roses; N.O.A.- Afterallogy