Trumpeter and composer Byron Wallen is a fantastic British jazz musician who is not very well known yet. And that while he already made several interesting albums and made important contributions to many diverse projects. He played with avant-garde pianist Andrew Hill on the one hand and with many dance productions, including Red Snapper on the other. Wallen traveled to Morocco for his own inspiration.
This resulted in Meeting Ground, on which he mixes his compelling compositions with Moroccan Gnawa (Sufi) music. Special guest Boujemaa Boubul sings and plays guimbri and percussion with Wallen's permanent group Indigo, a quartet consisting of double bass, drums, Wallen's trumpet and Tony Kofi's soprano and baritone sax. This combination guarantees a subtle and special world jazz with influences from dub, funk and swing. The CD tells a musical story about the very first Gnawa Bilal. To support the atmosphere, Wallen interspersed his compositions with sound samples of field sounds and Moroccan chants, cheers and wails. Intriguing. (HB)more
