Juice (2014)/ Chris Wood [US] & Billy Martin & John Scofield & John Medeski

"The third studio meeting in 17 years between MM&W and Scofield has no easy referent to their earlier recordings - purposely. This quartet sounds like a real band now, which is a mixed blessing. The positive aspect is that this longtime collaboration creates near instinctive communication. This is a much more inside date. There are 4 covers from the 1960s scattered among the various originals; some work better than others. One is "Sham Time," an Eddie Harris tune. The obvious inspiration, though, is Willie Bobo's version from the 1968 album A New Dimension. This quartet does it justice with spark, crackle, groove, and grease. The cultural baggage associated with the Doors' "Light My Fire" is too great for even these musicians to transcend, and with a straight rock chart, it feels tossed off. Conversely, the reading of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," at nearly 11 minutes, contains an imaginative rocksteady arrangement that makes the listener almost forget the original." (Thom Jurek, Allmusic; 3 uit 5 sterren)

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