First hearing of this “World Music” CD left me somewhat mystified.  While the production and musicality of this percussion based, mostly instrumental work, is both engaging and professional; style-wise it felt all over the board.  Repeated listening - while not quite creating a unified artistic picture or composition in my mind – brought out gems of beauty and not a few stunning statements of “shapes of sound and time.”  Well worth a listen and is good driving music!  

Here are some thoughts on the tracks:

1. Aldebaran - Exotic with a Middle Eastern vibe that supports peace over jihad

2. Caldera – African meets chamber

3. Zulugu – Soulful hard rock jam

5. Freehand – Jazzy noodling

6. Cubist -  All-around percussionist’s waking dream

9. Smoke – Suspense thriller

10. Geo – Moving a 4 year old with beat-happy numerology

11. Convex – Eric Johnson like in 51 seconds!  Perfect (please make a symphony of this puppy)

14. Gahudo – Modern Tiki Room inspiration

15. Middle Ground – Good beats for a preschool dance party

16. Eclipse – Excellent all-around sound / Stand-out track  

A “world” percussionist, Jerry Leake gathered a fun line-up of jazz, funk, and world musicians for Cubist. His writing is danceable, accessible, and highly crossbred, delivering jazz-funk full of African and Indian colours, with traces of Indonesia and Native America… among others! Guitarist Randy Roos is Leake’s right-hand man, and his spirited solos steal the show a few times. The horn arrangements are strong and blend in well with the percussions. At some points, I could have though I was into Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Apocalypse. A strong record that came out of nowhere. [Below: Tons of soundclips on this web page.]  From http://blog.monsieurdelire.com

http://www.rhombuspublishing.com/cubist.html

Who is Jerry Leake and what did he create?

Jerry began his percussion quest as a young boy. “I savored the discovery of connecting dots in my music to those in my life. I was able to see myself through the history of various drums and my own process of learning about each of them.” Gradually, Leake’s passion for percussion fuelled a hunger for exploration that led him to studies at Berklee College of Music, then India, Africa, and Latin America.

Over 30 years of experimenting, combining, and layering his personal and worldly musical history ‘discovery’ remains a central part of Jerry’s mission. “Everything I create is based on some integral and traceable origin,” said Leake. “I strive to add my own contemporary composing and arranging skills to find a common thread with the present into the past—a sort of future-ancient perspective where today has already become history.

It is no coincidence that the music in Cubist reinvigorates the concepts presented by the Cubist movement in the early 20th century. Like Picasso, Leake set out to represent each musical object—each theme, instrument, and influence—from all sides, in relation to the listener. As a result, a more profound musical awareness and aesthetic evolved with sounds that intertwine human experience with global music experience.