![the souljazz orchestra resistance the souljazz orchestra resistance](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/68/LondonSymphonyOrchestra.jpg)
In 2012, the band completed two US tours that included stops in cities such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Chicago. Other musicians signed to Strut include "Ethio-Jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey and Ghanaian highlife singer Ebo Taylor, to name a few." Īccording to AllMusic, the band's "overtly political 2006 single "Mista President," off second album Freedom No Go Die (Do Right!), really increased their audience, voted to the number nine spot in the 2006 Top 30 of BBC DJ Gilles Peterson's Worldwide programme. In any event, the questions posed by the rest of Chaos Theories aren’t answered in “Well Runs Dry”, bringing the album to a peaceful but ambivalent conclusion.The band signed to London-based Strut Records, a UK record label that focuses on dance music and afrobeat. “Well Runs Dry” questions where we are as a modern society, and notes that the past seemed simpler, though maybe that’s just how our minds perceive it.
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Still, it never feels like it’s overstaying its welcome, as the various solos invite the listener into the song’s lyrical meditation on the present versus the past. Clocking in at over eight minutes, “Well Runs Dry” is by far the longest song on Chaos Theories. While many of the upbeat songs on Chaos Theories are fun, “Well Runs Dry” emerges as the best song on the record. Opening lyrics, “Never miss / Miss the water / ’til the well / It runs dry”, reference American soul singer/songwriter William Bell’s often-covered Stax Records classic, “You Don’t Miss Your Water”. After immersing themselves in current events and issues, the Souljazz Orchestra bring Chaos Theories to a contemplative close with “Well Runs Dry”, a lovely and expansive ballad that gives them one more chance to stretch out musically. The Souljazz Orchestra ponder and protest current economic realities with the reggae-inflected “General Strike” and “Slumlord”. The band concludes that when you’re playing war games, everyone is a loser, but of course, Matthew Broderick’s computer told us this back in 1983. “Sky High”, with even more disco inclinations than “House of Cards”, returns the band to the dance floor, while “War Games” channels Style Council and the Police with a catchy tune that is ultimately employed to list those countries that currently possess nuclear weapons.
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Musically, “House of Cards” is a tasty fusion of Chic and Sandinista-era Clash. Lyrically, the song is an oblique commentary on the Trump administration. “House of Cards”, the next track, is even better.
![the souljazz orchestra resistance the souljazz orchestra resistance](https://f4.bcbits.com/img/0008193892_50.jpg)
While the lyrics might be considered heavy-handed by some, the band’s conviction can’t be denied. Led by keyboardist/percussion/singer Pierre Chrétien, the Souljazz Orchestra includes Philippe Lafrenière (drums, percussion, vocals) Marielle Rivard (percussion, vocals) Ray Murray (baritone saxophone, percussion, vocals) Steve Patterson (tenor saxophone, percussion, vocals) and Zakari Frantz (alto saxophone, percussion, vocals).įollowing an opening instrumental, “Charlie Foxtrot”, the Souljazz Orchestra gets down to lyrical business with the topical “Police the Police”, inspired by the 2016 death of Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali-Canadian. The band also continue their tradition of outspoken political commentary throughout the album. The band may mention soul and jazz in its name, but on their new album, Chaos Theories, the Souljazz Orchestra reveal themselves to be well-versed in the sounds of reggae, ska, disco, and punk, along with a little bit of both jazz and soul.
THE SOULJAZZ ORCHESTRA RESISTANCE SERIES
Formed in 2002 in Ottawa, Canada, the Souljazz Orchestra have been releasing a series of genre-defying albums and touring throughout the world ever since.