IF LOCKDOWN releases and remote recordings are anything to go by, especially when you’re a jazz ensemble, then you best take example from The ET Suite– a reimagined expansion of Montreal jazz-funk collective Busty and the Bass’s album track, “ET”.
They’re already receiving high praise for their second album, Eddie, from Mojo Magazine, Echoes, Complex and ourselves; and ET Suite is wonderfully genre-fluid and evocative of a musician’s need to connect in isolation through creation.
I’m in awe of the creative risk they took with this EP, and when I say ‘risk’ I mean highly outstanding result. The EP introduced the album version of “ET” and then we literally are taken on an extraterrestrial trip around four planets, funky irresistibly Venus and it’s partner in crime, Jupiter, soulful introspection from Neptune and absolutely freedom-seeking Mars. A party on each planet? I’ll take it.
Drawing on some of Montreal’s finest, each track was quite literally recorded in isolation. The production quality is a marvel, bringing out the best of the band’s infectious horn lines, swooning piano and heavy laden grooves.
Guest artists Terrell Morris, Kalitechnis and Tika the creator start the 1st Suite of Venus with masterful soul and hiphop soundscapes. It’s the perfect way to reimagine the album version, and then we’ve got the showmanship of counterpoint and polyrhythm with the following track,” Part III: Jupiter”. featuring Earth, Wind and Fire’s Verdine White. You almost feel like you’re in a studio recording session with Quincy Jones and Grandmaster Flash – but somewhere in the near future. The horn lines set against the insatiable bassline masterfully hint at a need to escape, give the illusion of an almost inescapable tight space, both musically with a tight rhythm section and figuratively, as if you’re trapped in your own spaceship.
That’s a good thing again, because the following track featuring great vocals from Pierre Kwenders and gives us the much-needed relief of a human touch with heartwarming vocal harmonies. This translates well into musical odyssey of the EP, and moreover, to the inherent need to connect from one isolated room to another.
It’s no surprise that the final track is in contrast a highly entertaining jazz freakout party in the sky of “Part V: Mars”. This track is cinematic as it crescendos into a dramatic built from the improvised to riff infused horn lines against a drum and bass section (brilliant drumming here) – until it reaches its peak. The descent: a flatlining heart monitor. Symbolic? Prophetic even? Certainly. Without social contact, we are not fully functional as human beings. This was so beautifully clear with this EP.
Jazz ensembles, take note. This is how you get the most of a remote lockdown. You don’t need to always come up with new material- sometimes, there is a song within a song, and in this case, a suite within a song.
Busty and The Bass’ ET Suite EP drops March 17 via Arts and Crafts. Pre -order a copy here.
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