ALBUM REVIEW: The Mitchell and Dewbury Band
- Posted on April 16, 2007 9:50 AM
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THE MITCHELL & DEWBURY BAND : Beyond The Rains
Bongo Records. Released 23 April 2007
Review by Peter Coulston
This album is devoted to the art of soul, jazz and funk, past and present; lovingly produced by Ben Mitchell and Russ Dewbury, along with lots of their very talented friends. Ben Mitchell is a producer, remixer and DJ who plays worldwide and records in the name of Sao Benitez. He has remixed works by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Smith and produced for Dusty Springfield, The Harlem Gospel Singers and Beverly Knight. Russ Dewbury is the sole power behind the Jazz Rooms, Britain’s longest running club session, as well as Brighton’s Jazz Bops. He is one of Britain’s leading antiquarians of black music, famous for his restored compilations of must-own material. This album is an essential blend of soul, jazz, funk and latin, with a positive enthusiasm that makes it irresistible listening.
The title track opens the album with bright latin rhythms and brass supporting a fine vocal by Billie Godfrey. “Rapping With The Gods” has an electro opening that moves into funky jazz with good use of vocals, keyboards and brass. Billie Godfrey again shows off her range on “Love Is Flowing To Love”, a jazzy upbeat soul ballad. Folky acoustic guitar opens “Spaces And Places”, giving way to the keyboards and blended vocals of Navasha Daya and James Collins of Baltimore soul/jazz outfit, Fertile Ground. “Darker Than A Shadow” is just that, a beautiful folk/jazz contribution with great lyrics from Terry Callier. “Kaleidoscope (Wheel Within A Wheel) is funky and latin with a great, extended vibraphone solo and pure vocals by Lizzie Rendall.
“My Words” made me want to be on a beach and is a fun and funky addition featuring Germany’s Hypnosis and Marc Frank. “Globetrotter” is infectious, with it’s again funky guitar riff supporting some creative work on flute, organ and more guitar. The African influence of Nigerian saxophonist, Bukky Leo is apparent on “Living…Am I Living” while the live recording of “Jazz Is Your Life” has latin rhythms giving way to jazzy piano and organ. The title track is given the Brazilian treatment by Drumagick, who use heavier bass and percussion and some flute to close this excellent album. Also featured are jazz flautist Lawrence Jones from Philadelphia, bass player Jeff “The Funk” Walker and pianist Mark Edwards. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, well crafted piece of work that I will enjoy having in my collection. To buy online, go to buymrbongo.com
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