Someone who has heard
dissent's first two albums (
dissent and
Bleeding Together) might be tempted to ask, "Will the real
dissent please stand up?" That's because producer
Gregory Howe's project has shown the music world two different faces: an
electronica/
downtempo/
acid jazz/
trip-hop face, and an improvising
jazz-funk face. Which is the real
dissent -- which
dissent is
Howe the most comfortable with? Actually,
Howe sounds like he is comfortable wearing both hats, and truth be told, both are valid parts of his artistry. Originally released in 1998 and re-released in 2001, this self-titled debut album is more of a
jazz-funk outing than an
electronica outing.
Howe makes some
electronica moves at times; for example, that side of his artistry asserts itself on
"Corporate Voodoo." But for the most part, this is an album of instrumental
jazz-funk with a strong '70s influence -- and a horn-friendly band sound prevails on tracks like
"Thoughts on Freedom," "925," and
"So Damn Phisticated." These tunes have more to do with musicianship than production gloss -- players like guitarist
Calvin Keys and trombonist
Michael Rinta have room to stretch out -- whereas
dissent's
electronica-oriented second album,
Bleeding Together, is very much a technology-oriented producer's disc. Of course, the term
jazz-funk can mean different things to different people; on this album,
Howe favors a more mysterious style of
jazz-funk -- one that is closer to '70s-era
Miles Davis than the down-home
soul-jazz of
Funk, Inc. or
the Crusaders. This CD isn't recommended to
jazz purists or
bop snobs; the material is way too funky and backbeat-minded to appeal to the
Wynton Marsalis/
Stanley Crouch crowd. But
dissent's debut is worth hearing if you like your
jazz laced with a big dose of
funk/
soul and don't mind the occasional detour into
electronica. ~ Alex Henderson