HERBIE MANN — Reggae (review)

HERBIE MANN — Reggae album cover Album · 1974 · World Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
js
So Mr Mann of a million different hats decides to make a go of the reggae thing while reggae itself is under going a huge surge in international popularity, no big surprise there. The problem is though, that successfully mixing reggae and jazz is not a simple thing. Done properly, reggae is a “moment form” style of music, the events are frozen in time and the musicians and listeners have the freedom to move horizontally in their meditation. Jazz, like most rock and classical music is very linear, one idea flows to the next in an attempt to create a narrative. Miles Davis applied moment form to jazz and funk for a while in the mid-70s, but that’s a whole nother discussion. Meanwhile, taking a reggae rhythm and trying to create a long winded RnB/jazz jam session weakens the reggae and makes for boring jazz too. The other problem is this, ask any reggae musician, people from a rock or jazz background really don’t get reggae and the serious reggae musician can feel this immediately. Fortunately, the reggae part of this album is supplied by the excellent Tommy McCook Band from Jamaica, while Mann and company do their jazz/rock solos on top.

Having said all that, taken for what it is, this isn’t a bad record. I’m sure if you dropped this at a party it would set an irie mood and everyone would lively up themselves. Also, if you like kitsch exotic cover tunes, a place where Mann always excels, you can’t go wrong with reggae versions of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and “My Girl”. Actually, putting a reggae beat to “My Girls” very Jamaican sounding bass line is one of the best fits on here, but it just has a hard time holding up under the strain of a long-winded Allman Brothers style work out.
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