Whatever you might expect from the instrumental solo album by the bassist from pioneers of hardcore punk Bad Brains, Darryl Jenifer, this is not it.
I’m not a Bad Brains fan but I have got their dub album, and that’s about the only place this record and anything by Bad Brains meet.
This is jazz, fusion and funk, with some dub, and it’s very good. Possibly the only punk thing he’s brought to this table is the energy; there is nothing complacent to this even when it veers towards easy listening. There are nine new songs, as well as new interpretations of two Bad Brains classics (no idea what they are and not looked).
Opener “Sacred Love II” seems to the one where Jenifer shows his chops, as the bass is more to the fore, but otherwise it’s a gentle jazz track; on the next track, “August”, he plays melodica (that keyboard you blow into), and again on the next track.
“Reignition II” opens like it could be Bad Brains, with a politely rocky blast of all the instruments. “Rights” is vaguely reggae, and I assume the following “Rights Dub” is the dub version of the same song.
“End Infinity” steps it up a notch, a definite move from jazz to funk, or even nu soul, and for levels of musicianship, possibly the standout.
See orgmusiclabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-weather-channel
JMC
