Trumpeter
Tim Hagans' fascination with the Electric
Miles Davis Era continues on this 2000 release titled
Re-Animation: Live. A follow-up to his teaming with saxophonist
Bob Belden on the 1998 studio release
Animation - Imagination, the music from this offering is culled from a 1999 performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival and features compositions from the previous studio set along with some new material.
This sextet, also featuring turntable guru
DJ Kingsize, drummer Billy Kilson, bassist
David Dyson, and synthesizer performer
Scott Kinsey, extends some of the concepts witnessed on the 1998 studio album, yet the "live" experience provides a variegated glimpse of this band's artistry and kinetic spirit. Electric
Miles for the new millennium? Perhaps, as the band propagates electrified funk-induced rhythms into sounds and motifs that could parallel notions of urban upheaval along with third-world overtones. Soprano saxophonist
Bob Belden frequently jabs and spars with
Hagans who employs muted soloing along with electric wah-wah trumpet and blaring leads amid scratch turntables, EFX, and the musician's fervent soloing. However, the band also explores sublime passages that seemingly spawn adventurous thematic inventions as the musicians maintain a vibrant course, enhanced by sporadic dashes of sci-fi style sampled voices. Hence, vivid imagery of an alien soundscape prevails throughout. Overall,
Re-Animation: Live is an exhilarating and curiously interesting affair that elevates erstwhile concepts to new and, at times, unearthly heights. ~ Glenn Astarita