The Intersection: Mocean Worker

The Intersection is a new feature on JazzWrap that looks at artists that blend jazz with electronica (a tradition pioneered by none other than Miles Davis on such classic recordings as On the Corner).

This week's focus is Mocean Worker.

Mocean Worker aka Adam Dorn is one of the jazzier electronica musicians out there, and with good reason – he has it in his blood. Dorn's dad Joel was one of Atlantic Records’ top producers during the 1960s and '70s, helming sessions by John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, as well as Roberta Flack, Bette Midler and the Allman Brothers. As for Adam, he studied at the renowned Berklee College of Music and has worked with artists as varied as David Sanborn to Hal Willner to Chaka Khan. Adam and his dad also have reissued jazz albums from the defunct Muse and Landmark labels on their own 32 Records.

Mocean Worker began promisingly with the cut ‘n’ paste drum ‘n’ bass album Home Movies from the Brainforest ('98), which was released by the punk label Conscience. His appreciation of Latin rhythms and crime jazz moods is evident on “The Mission” and “Overtime” which smolders with film noir intensity. His mash-up of “Summertime” and “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” is among the best of its late ‘90s retro kind.

Dorn moved to Island Records’ subsidiary Palm Pictures for his strong second effort, the more polished Mixed Emotional Features ('99). By turns jazzy and cinematic, this album further demonstrates Dorn’s love of tasty samples, but also shows some significant growth in his synth and production skills. An atmosphere of intrigue and drama pervades tracks such as “Rene M” and “Heaven @ 12:07.” And the cut ‘n’ paste retro jazz workout “Counts, Dukes and Satyrs” wouldn’t have sounded out of place on his first album.

Dorn’s third album Aural & Hearty ('00) is the clubbiest of his efforts and probably the most disposable, but does offer another trip down millennial sampledelic nu-jazz in “Velvet Black Sky.”

When Mocean Worker returned four years later with Enter the MoWo! ('04), Dorn’s taste for funky beats and jazz loops (“On and On”, “Right Now”) were back at the forefront. The album also features a number of special guests including Les McCann (“That’s What’s Happenin’ Tonight”), Bill Frissell (“Salted Fatback”), Steve Bernstein of Sex Mob (“Only the Shadow Knows”), and Hal Willner (“Move”) as well as David "Fathead" Newman, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Nina Simone. Enter the MoWo! may be the best introduction to Mocean Worker.

For his fifth album, Dorn continued to ply the old school beat jazz vibe and Latin jazz grooves with Cinco de MoWo! ('07). Check out the infectious sample-jacking splendor of “Shake Ya Boogie”, and the cameo appearances of Herb “Tijuana Brass” Alpert (“Changes”) and Rahsaan Roland Kirk (“Siss Boom Bah” and “Reykjavik”). While the hooks aren’t quite as infectious as Enter the MoWo!, Cinco de MoWo! effectively builds on Dorn’s jazz-inspired electronica sound.

Next Week: Compost Records' Future Sounds of Jazz series

Roy Hargrove: No Longer A Young Lion

Roy Hargrove (trumpet; b. 1970)

I met Roy Hargrove many years ago before his first record. I thought then that this cat was going to have two albums and never be heard from again. Oh boy, was I an idiot.

Roy Hargrove has had a long career filled with a few minor stops and starts but he has always been true to his craft. After being lumped in with the "Young Lions" tag back in the beginning of the '90s (along with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman, and others) Roy Hargrove has paved his own path and paid his own dues to become one of the more creative and thoughtful trumpeters of his generation. The "neo-classicism" label that many of the jazz artists were given during the '90s while condescending it was a rejection of the hard boiled fusion that had overtaken jazz during the '70s and '80s.

Roy Hargrove has done small quartet/quintet recordings, big band and hip hop; all to varying degrees but all with integrity. I have seen him live quite a few times over the last twenty years and he continues to impress me. He is not the new Miles Davis or Dizzy Gillespie but he is rising to the occasion with every record. Many of his earlier albums are not available anymore but if you see the compilation The Collected Roy Hargrove (Novus/RCA) I would highly recommend picking it up. It does a fine job of covering his first five albums.

Of his newer material I would recommend two of his most recent albums, the big band effort Emergence (Emarcy) which feels like an artist who has finally found his voice again and last years Earfood (Emarcy) which is a small group recording. Both are excellent examples of his entire career and you can begin to work backwards from there.

Check these two videos; the first is before his first record even came out and the second is from the Earfood release. Wow, if I had known that night I first met him how much of a fan would be now...

Outhouse: Britian's New Avant Garde

Outhouse (group; 2004)

African rhythms and jazz have always been a great combination, but doing it well isn't always easy. Outhouse, a new collective from London, seem to be doing it with justice, integrity and invention. On their self titled debut, Outhouse (Babel Records) from 2008, settles right in with the aesthetics of European jazz (ethereal with sprinkles of experimentation). Their use of two tenor saxophonists and the influence of African drums makes their music more interesting than some of the more Miles Davis inspired acts coming out of Norway and Sweden at the moment. The second album from Outhouse entitled Outhouse Ruhabi (Loop) explores their African influences further with collaboration from Gambian drum outfit Ruhabi (hence the album title). Outhouse Ruhabi is fantastic concoction of European and African motifs that if you are fan of world music you are bound to enjoy. Both albums are a fascinating listens and definitely put Outhouse in the shop window as a band to look out for over the next couple of years.

Great Live Albums: Like Dylan Going Electric

Benny Goodman The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Columbia Records)
Benny Goodman (clarinet, b. 1909 - d. 1986)

While some may associate Benny Goodman with the swing/WWII era, he was also a serious performer and band leader with a much wider vision for jazz (large ensembles as well as in small quartets). Goodman was also groundbreaking for employing and work with many African American artists at a time when it was highly dangerous to White performers careers. Goodman gave those critics a big "F.U."

The classic and historic Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Columbia Records) concert is one of those moments like when Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in '65. The Carnegie Hall concert was important because it was the moment when Swing finally arrived to the masses. They (the audience) finally accepted the pulsating beat of Gene Krupa, the driving sensation of Buck Clayton's trumpet, Johnny Hodges on saxophone, the smooth rhythmic melodies of Teddy Wilson on piano and Lionel Hampton on vibes (as well as the rest of the orchestra).

This performance is absolutely smokin'. Forget everything you've ever thought about when it comes to swing and listen to this album as killer live jazz show. The Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert has always been criticized because the sound quality isn't great but this was an era before tape masters and the fact that this historic moment was recorded in its entirety is amazing.

You will feel completely different after listening to it on the first spin; A great live recording and probably one the most important in all of recorded music. Bob Dylan stunned the crowd at Newport and change everything for folk. Benny Goodman stunned the audience at Carnegie Hall and changed everything for Swing and Jazz. For more proof of the power of Benny Goodman's Orchestra take a look at the video for "Sing, Sing, Sing"--Gene Krupa (drums) is a madman!