All One Tribe

Flows Like Water.....

     

"Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless...like water. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."--Bruce Lee In the spirit of defying traditional music forms, Skeebo Knight and his friends serve up another great dish of original funky jazz tunes delivered with heart and passion. I totally dig this CD and the musical journey it takes you on. It's a creative mixture of musical styles which leans heavily on improvisation but never at the expense of a memorable song. The opening track, appropriately titled "Bruce Lee", starts the journey off with Skeebo laying down a killer drum beat before a trombone and piano quickly come in and spar on top of the tight bass/drum groove. The result is an energetic but still tasteful piece that sets the tone throughout, as Skeebo & Co. take on many shapes and forms. There's humor here (Snack Master), smokey nightclub vibes (Big Chief City), relaxing and meditative grooves (Escape To Jekyll Island, Ocean Breeze), New 'Awlins style sounds, southern fried rock (Nancy Hanks), and more. One of my favorite pieces is the title track, "All One Tribe", which is a short but very catchy tune that I could easily see featured as a whimsical piece on a movie soundtrack. Same goes for the tune "Running", a much longer piece that features some incredible sax and trombone licks that totally jam out toward the end. It's easy to tell there are strong players behind these sounds and that they're having a good time with this project. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary from a bunch of guys who definitely have the chops, then check this CD out. They make this stuff look easy. Like water flowing. Or to use another Bruce Lee quote that I think might describe Skeebo's musical philosophy and possibly his drumming style....."I do not hit, it hits all by itself."