Dennis Chambers Outbreak

Chambers' funky background (7 years with George Clinton before joining with John Scofield, and eventually John McLaughlin's "Free Spirits") more than peeks through the jazzy exterior on this very modern-day electric jazz studio album, Outbreak, his second outing as session leader, although it has Jim Beard's composition and production styles stamped all over it. Chambers' forte is taking straight-ahead popular music lines and sliding them into jazzy molds, usually with cunning swing tactics and brute force. His mere presence is guaranteed to be a shot in the arm for otherwise overly smooth jazz arrangements transforming them into pulsating, vital entities. Here he plays his tricks with Beard, Scofield, James Brown and Sly Stallone numbers.

When a musician is said to be in their comfort zone it's usually a reference to their technical prowess. With Chambers it could be a better reference to his huge stamina and physical capacity - I once experienced a near-hour barrage during one of his solo slots: the walls shook, women and children fled, grown men cried, Dennis hardly broke sweat before segueing straight into a frenetic closing hour of performance. Indeed, this was a "Free Spirits" gig; his playing with the "Free Spirits" and McLaughlin's "Heart of Things" showed a lot more sophistication and rapid-fire brilliance than he seems to allow himself during even his own sessions, but that doesn't seem to restrict the raw power he exudes. Even a subdued Chambers is offscale for most drummers. Perhaps McLaughlin brings the best out of drummers, and vice versa. It is no accident that the lilting, razorsharp 5-note head of "Paris On Mine" is a fitting recognition of the huge influence and legacy of the Mahavishnu Orchestra over the years. It's actually a response to McLaughlin's "New York On My Mind" but successfully serves up many of McLaughlin's flavours.

Whoever the composer, whatever the style, Chambers makes it his music. Other tastes to savour here include late Miles on "In Time", particularly thanks to Randy Brecker's muted horn, and his trademark bass-drum-built-wall-of-sound acid jazz akin to "Heart of Things" (not surprising given Chambers, Beard and Garrison all contributed to that project) on ("Plan B") and the title track stratospheric jam workout, all served on a plate of hot funky tamales, Dennis style.

Chamber music it ain't.

Roll Call

Otay

Groovus Interruptus

Paris On Mine

In Time

Plan B

Outbreak

Baltimore, DC

Talkin Loud and Sayin Nothin

Dennis Chambers: drums

Michael Brecker: tenor sax

Bob Malach: tenor and bass saxes

Aaron Heick: alto sax

Randy Brecker, Jim Hynes: trumpet

Michael Davis: trombone

Jon Herington, John Scofield, Nick Moroch: guitars

Dean Brown: guitars, bass

Jim Beard: clavinet, Hammond B3, Rhodes, synth, Wurlitzer piano

Will Lee, Gary Willis, Matt Garrison, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis: bass

Arto Tuncboyaciyan: percussion

Danny Sadownick: congas