Louis XAVIER - Ladja: Jazz With A West Indian Soul
REBIRTH ON WAX
Jazz / Contemporary / FusionNew Vinyl LP / 21 EUR
A great little session of electric funky jazz – with a bit of a West Indian twist – all of which makes the album a real standout from other efforts at the time! The session was recorded in Paris, and led by bassist Louis Xavier – but the killer talent is saxophonist Jo Maka, who plays some great alto and soprano on the set – cutting through the mix of percussion, electric bass, and keyboards with his really sharp sound! There’s some nice Fender Rhodes on the album, strong percussion, and the best tracks have a kind of skittish percussion groove that’s really more Afro-jazz than it is Caribbean – on titles that include “Delito”, “Steps”, “Migan”, “Miss Bee”, and “Helix”.