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Charnett Moffett: New Love

By Jerome Wilson
September 2, 2021
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If one thing is obvious from this CD, it is that electric bassist

Charnett Moffett

bass
1967 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Charnett Moffett is a happy man these days. His playing leaps out of the speakers on these tracks with joy and high spirits. That may be because he works here in the company of his "new love," his wife, guitarist

Jana Herzen

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Jana Herzen. The two of them bounce, dance and wiggle their instruments together on twelve wide-ranging tracks which take in funk, reggae, folk, and psychedelia, always exuding a close-knit harmonic chemistry.

Moffett's bubbling bass lines are often the lead voice in music sometimes reminiscent of the harmolodic funk

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman explored with his electric band, Prime Time. However he and Herzen work their magic on a greater variety of tempos and approaches. They high step through fast jams on "Swinging in the Realms" and "Flying in the Air," skip through a childlike melody on "Little Flowers," and entwine in hip bluesy swing on "We Remember." They also play slower contemplative lines on "I Didn't Know" beside

Irwin Hall

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Irwin Hall's yearning tenor sax, and walk a spacier path on "Higher Dimensions" with Janzen's guitar pealing and twisting against rapid-fire bass bursts. Throughout all of this

Corey Garcia

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Corey Garcia's heavy-on-the-cymbals drumming maintains a loose and energetic rhythmic foundation which gives the married couple plenty of space to cut their capers.

Malick Koly

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Malick Koly takes over the drum seat for "ETQ," a gritty tribal dance wherein Moffett takes a back seat to Hall blowing serpentine soprano sax and Herzen popping, plucking and adding wah-wah effects. This track sounds like a funk-laden

James Blood Ulmer

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">James Blood Ulmer hoedown.

On the last four tracks, Moffett and Herzen add their singing to the joyous mix. Their voices are natural and gentle and in the context of this music they add an emotional dimension close to that which

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler's vocals brought to his final recordings. These tracks are a fluttery love song ,"New Love," featuring Hall on flute, the easy reggae groove of "Bride & Spirit Song," the swashbuckling Mexican-Jamaican chug of "Love for the People" and the ending valedictory burst of "Rejoice," with Moffett and Herzen singing "Rejoice" over and over against laughing, jubilant bass and guitar runs.

This record overflows with optimism and warmth conveyed through the boiling joy of Moffett's bass and the glistening responses from Herzen's guitar. The pair put out a rich sound full of spirituality and positive emotion. This is one of the most unashamedly happy sets of music to appear in a long time.

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Track Listing

Swinging in the Realms; We Remember; Little Flowers; Today; Higher Dimensions; I Didn't Know; Flying in the Air; ETQ; New Love; Spirit & Bride Song; Love for the People; Rejoice.

Personnel

Charnett Moffett

bass

Jana Herzen

guitar

Corey Garcia

drums

Malick Koly

drums

Irwin Hall

saxophone

Additional Instrumentation

Charnett Moffett: vocals (9-12); Jana Herzen: vocals (10-12); Corey Garcia: (1-7,9,10,12}; Malick Koly (8, 11); Irwin Hall: tenor saxophone (6,7,11), soprano saxophone (8,11); alto flute (9).

Album information

Title: New Love | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Mot��ma Music

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