On
Sacred System: Chapter Two, bassist and producer extraordinaire
Bill Laswell makes good on the partly unfulfilled promise of 1996's
Sacred System Chapter One: Book of Entrance. The difference, in this case, is a small ensemble of guest musicians who include
Material guitarist
Nicky Skopelitis, a tabla virtuoso named
Bill Buchen, and jazz cornettist
Graham Haynes (son of legendary bop drummer
Roy Haynes). Whereas
Chapter One was a rather arid solo project,
Chapter Two comes completely to life with the various contributions of its ensemble players:
Skopelitis mostly lays back and contributes lovely textures, while
Haynes defines cavernous aural spaces with his echoey, jazzy horn lines and
Buchen delivers almost impossibly intricate percussion figures.
Laswell himself seems more energized, as well, and his basslines sound deeper, heavier, happier. This is a deeply satisfying compilation of groove music from one of groove's greatest living exponents. ~ Rick Anderson