Reinvention is sultry, smoky, well played, and enjoyable jazz-fusion from The Dixon-Rhyne Project, a four-piece band consisting of sax player Rob Dixon, Melvin Rhyne on Hammond B3 organ & Moog, guitarist Fareed Haque, and drummer Kenny Phelps, all renowned players on the jazz circuit, Hacque with 90's albums on the Blue Note label as well as his current band Garaj Mahal, and Rhyne most notably as the organ player for many years with guitar legend Wes Montgomery. The CD contains ten tracks, each falling in the 4-9 minute range, leaving plenty of room for tight grooves and solo spots. Veteran Hammond man Rhyne is a joy to listen to, his swirling organ licks on "Repub Club" and the title track set the stage for plenty of weaving sax lines from Dixon, and Haque struts his stuff all over the jammy "Shadows and Light". Check out the intricate sax and guitar lines of "Carousel", one of the hottest pieces here, Haque's liquid Montgomery/Benson/Burrell/Green-styled leads really giving the song that vintage jazz feel, while Dixon's sax takes flight to the heavens. Speaking of Kenny Burrell, the band does a great cover of his classic "Chit'lins Con Carne", complete with delicious B3 cascades from Rhyne and great stick work from Phelps, and the near 10-minute "Tomorrow Sierra" sees the band dig in deeper into some rock & prog passages. If you like your jazz with a funk edge, look no further than "Fantastic Prizes" and "Mind's Eye", two groove-laden numbers that are a lot of fun, the only thing missing is some throbbing bass lines.
This is classy stuff from start to finish, an All-Star jazz fest that does not let down for one second. Not only does the playing meet and exceed expectations, but the songs are all highly melodic and memorable. Recommended.
Track Listing
1. Repub Club
2. Mel's Groove
3. Shadow and Light
4. Reinvention
5. Carousel
6. Chit'lins Con Carne
7. Tomorrow Sierra
8. Fantastic Prizes
9. Mind's Eye
10. Johannesburg
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