Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 08/30/1994
Run Time: 52:58
There is some serious shaking going on in the studio here, and it appears the veteran
Sample has found a great situation to let out his more aggressive edges. What must it be like to be a legend and try to somehow uncover a path you haven't driven on before? How can a cat like
Sample top himself? It's always rewarding when a veteran artist twists expectations with a brand new sound, even if reaching into his past for the germ of the idea.
Sample darts at the listener with a whole new, nonstop brass funk approach, allowing his all-star
Soul Committee to lay down the grooves beneath his still plucky ivory spirit. Though
Did You Feel That? cooks from start to finish, employing inventive rhythmic touches, simmering cool, and a flashy retro production style, it's sometimes too easy to compare the wild horn tandem of
Oscar Brashear and
Joel Peskin with old
Sample cohorts
Wilton Felder and
Wayne Henderson. Sort of a
Crusaders for the modern age. What shines through, however, is
Sample's successful execution as a leader of a true ensemble, rather than just a slew of sessionaires. He takes some tasty solos, but makes sure that members of
the Committee are allowed their own voices as they chime in with the Chairman of the Board. And just for the record, the other
Committee members include drummer
Steve Gadd, bassist
Freddie Washington, guitarists
Michael Landau and
Arthur Adams, plus percussionist
Lenny Castro. An added treat is the funky historical artwork, an
Aaron Douglas painting called "Aspects of Negro Life" from "Slavery Through Reconstruction." It shows the joy of the culture, perfectly mirroring the excitement found on the album.
~Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
;)
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