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Rating: Heirs of Jimi and Bird
It may seem excessive, but when someone manages to push the guitar to where Vernon Reid has taken it, one cannot help but think of Bird and the revolution he indeed brought about on the saxophone. The concert on July 5th in Porretta was a sort of miracle for me, it brought back the extraordinary music of Mistaken Identity and the first version of Masque, and much more: when faced with such events, comparisons are of little value.
Vernon Reid possesses, among other things, the innate talent to unite the un-unifiable, to juxtapose the un-juxtaposable, to assemble bands that live seem to be much, much more than the sum of their parts, and that work despite the apparent strangeness...Snippets of metal, Latin American music, be-bop, hip-hop, beat boxing, and electronic music, all found their 'own' space, but it is incorrect to distinguish the influences; this is about a synthesis as unique as it is original, and one can only watch.
Taylor Mcferrin demonstrated his ability to write sharp lyrics and amazed the audience with his beat boxing, without overdoing the virtuosity, but allowing our legs to still want to move, sitting in the amphitheater of Parco Roma, with the compelling groove each of us felt. Leon Gruenbaum closed his eyes on his ergonomic PC keyboard and 'shot' some of those solos that explain why he has been committed to promoting the instrument he invented for years... Vernon Reid is a genius.
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