Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project

By Tom WeeksOctober 31st, 2011Beantown Jazz, Blogs

Vibraphonist Dave Samuels has led the Caribbean Jazz Project (CJP) for over fifteen years, and at the Beantown Jazz festival, he showed the results of many years of mastering the group’s unique style. This iteration of the CJP featured Alain Mallet on piano, Mark Walker on drums and Lincoln Goines on bass, each of whom is a masterful modern jazz player with a serious understanding of Latin music.

The set began with an exciting up-tempo tune, which featured the piano and vibes trading solos. The group exemplified the way great modern players are able to interact with each other and develop and re-develop the ideas between the players. The interplay between the two soloists and the rhythm section was incredible. The solos naturally built up a great deal of tension to a tremendous climax before making a smooth transition into a group improvisation that brought the energy way down and segued into the next tune.

A piano intro set up the groove, which the percussion and bass ran with. The melody came in and revealed this spacey Latin tune to be a stretched out and reharmonized arrangement of the Oliver Nelson classic “Stolen Moments.” The piano solo took off over a funky, grooving minor blues with a lot of hip substitute chords and reharmonizations. It is a testament to every member of the group that they were able to keep up with and compliment all the twists and turns of Mallet’s masterfully constructed solo. The band went into a more upbeat latin groove for the vibe solo, taking the excitement level way up. Samuels has his own unique approach to harmony and solo construction that is simultaneously cerebral and visceral. The group came together perfectly at the end, going into a tight concerted rhythm to take it back to the head, which was developed in keeping with the energy established by the solos.

The highlight of the set was a fantastic arrangement of the Thelonious Monk tune “Bemsha Swing.” It began with a group improvisation that was more of a spontaneous composition between the vibes, piano and percussion that turned into an off-kilter, funky latin groove. The vibes came in with the melody double-timed. The group really showed off their incredibly advanced rhythmic conception and amazing technique on this tune. The arrangements for this group, especially “Bemsha Swing,” are all incredibly well-thought out and thoroughly rehearsed. The transitions between each section and solo were never sloppy and were always inventive. The Caribbean Jazz Project is certainly one of the most inventive and advanced latin jazz groups in the world today. The highly virtuosic players and incredible arrangements make them a group not to be missed by any jazz fan.

Check out their website at: http://www.dsamuels.com/