CD Review

An all-star band in their own right, featuring keyboardist Page McConnell (Phish), bassist Oteil Burbridge (The Allman Brothers, Aquarian Rescue Unit), and drummer Russell Batiste (The Meters), Vida Blue team up with the Afro-Cuban sextet The Spam Allstars for The Illustrated Band.

While on vacation last March, McConnell saw and sat in with local favorites The Spam Allstars in a Miami area club, taking an instant liking to the band's unique African/Latin based sound. Led by DJ Le Spam, the Allstars successfully combine turntables, samples, timbales, saxophone, flute, trombone and percussion to create original music that recently got them nominated for a Latin Grammy. Shortly after joining the Allstars on stage, McConnell invited the band into the studio to join forces with the atmospheric jazz and funk flavors of Vida Blue.

The result is The Illustrated Band, an exciting and eclectic selection of four mostly improvised jams that present a fusion of spacey jazz with Latin styles and rhythms. While Vida Blue's debut album showcased Page McConnell as the band's leader, as he handled most of the singing and songwriting duties, The Illustrated Band features Burbridge, Batiste and the six members of the Spam Allstars all sharing the spotlight equally.

From the get go, where the title track kicks off the album, it becomes apparent that DJ Le Spam's samples and turntables will play an intricate role in this merger between the two bands. The head-bobbing rhythm created by Batiste and the percussion section of Lazaro Alfonso and Tomas Diaz make it clear that this is a different Vida Blue than we've heard in the past. McConnell's funky keyboard stabs work wonderfully with the sparse, yet effective horn lines of AJ Hill, Mercedes Abal and John Speck, on saxophone, flute and trombone respectively.

African Chant-like samples weave between funky horn lines in "Charmpit", one of two songs on the album that clock in at over twenty minutes. The jam drifts through varying rhythms and themes with such fluidity, that you'd think these bands have been playing together for years. McConnell's improvisational abilities come to the forefront towards the end of the track, as he hammers out an impressive keyboard solo as the tune's energy peaks.

"You Don't Know" once again displays Russell Batiste returning to his funky roots, with a sound caught somewhere in between Cuba and New Orleans. Once again, the horn section shines, trading lines over DJ Le Spam's scratching and McConnell's organ. The bands continue to explore jazzy textures in "Little Miami (Reputation)", led by Burbridge's catchy bass line and equally creative horn harmonies by Hill, Abal and Speck. Arguably, the album's most adventurous track, Vida Blue and the Allstars journey from funky jazz to spacey ambient territory with impressive chemistry.

The Illustrated Band is a highly creative collaboration with sounds reminiscent of On the Corner/Jack Johnson era Miles Davis infused with a Latin twist. Vida Blue and The Spam Allstars are planning on taking their unique collaboration on the road this fall, with dates to be announced.