Label Bleu Records
2002
Resistance Is Futile
About This Album
The high-concept recordings of saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Steve Coleman are often confrontational, always provocative, and thoroughly engaging. Still, one cannot help but feel that something gets lost in the translation process in the recording studio. This double-CD live package, recorded in France in 2001 from two concerts, showcases the Five Elements at their most ambitious, yet subtle best. Coleman's lineup features trumpeters Jonathan Finlayson and Ambrose Akinmusire, pianist Andy Milne, Anthony Tidd on bass, Jesús Diaz on percussion, drummer Sean Rickman, and trombonist Geoffroy DeMasure. While it's true that most of these musicians are not well known, it's all for the better. Coleman's vision is pure, and the strengths of his collaborators shine through as part of the ensemble, according to plan. Set one (and disc one) is for the most part subdued and meditative, though there are moments of joyous, raucous energy that burst from the seams of the music, such as on "9 to 5," where a long, nearly classical opening is augmented by a Bulgarian dance band melodic line that gives way to a funky overdriven modal chart allowing the front-line players short solos that interchange at a rapid pace.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5 and 6)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 1,2,3 and 4)

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