The arrival of
Misha's explosive
JVC debut,
Connected to the Unexpected, both clarifies and secures the future of the ever-expanding realm where urban-flavored modern hip-hop meets contemporary jazz. More than just a clever twist of phrase, the album title plugs into the keyboardist's ultra-inventive approach in fusing the various elements of his professional background -- traditional and modern jazz, rock, pop, and orchestral music -- with an aggressive, rap-spiced street vibe, topping off the infectious blend with stylistic homages to rhythms from around the globe.
Connected to the Unexpected leads the Emmy award-winning composer, arranger, and producer down a more adventurous yet ultimately more focused road than
Zambooka, his debut as an artist in 1992. While younger fans looking for that new sound will no doubt find those grooves just the ticket,
Misha also forges numerous links to the jazz masters he admired in his formative years. Behind the furious blend of jazzy piano, serious hip-hop, and
Ron Bloom's rapping on
"1 and the 9" lies a big-band style homage to
Duke Ellington, complete with a three-piece horn section (
Greg Adams, trumpet;
Gary Herbig, sax;
Ira Nepus, trombone). On
"Smooth," achieving a cool synthesis of electric soul and percussive jazz gives
Misha an opportunity to touch on the influential moods of
Ahmad Jamal. And the closing track features
Misha's very plugged-in, very '90s take on
Glenn Miller's standard
"Moonlight Serenade." One of
Misha's most striking "now" ideas is balancing his harmonic jazz piano and horn fusion with colorful rapping and singing (often on the same cut) by
Ron Bloom and
Angela Carole Brown.
Brown turns the hypnotic, African-tinged
"Si Kuku Ni Ta Kuja" (A Great Day Is Coming) into an inspirational message, and takes
"Smooth" to a new level in rhythm and jazz seduction.
Bloom's cool vocalizations help
Misha traverse a variety of urban landscapes, from the city-to-city subway ride of
"1 and the 9" to the
Lenny Bruce coffeehouse generation of
"Poet in the Trash Can." Carrying the global motif even further is
"Donde Estan Mis Zapatos?" (Where Are My Shoes?),
Misha's playful ode to classic Latin dancehall excitement. ~ Jonathan Widran
