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December 2007 Issue

Undertones

from the December 2007 issue

DOUG HAMMONDA Real Deal (Heavenly Sweetness)

Strikingly minimalist, the first recording in 20 years from jazz-funk drummer Doug Hammond is a weirdly arresting blend of mystic street poetry and stark musical improvisation. Singing with a rough, unpolished voice that sounds vulnerable but touchingly sincere, or rapping his lines with a hip retro swagger, Hammond accompanies himself with meditative sanza (thumb piano) cycles or dynamically strutting drum riffs. He reaches another level when joined by pianist Kirk Lightsey, who lifts three songs into a world of fragile, melancholy beauty.



-Forrest Dylan Bryant

JAzztimes Dec 2007 -



Printable Version

"Querschläger" - Jazzthing
"A Real Deal" - Die Presse
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