A new face in the world of downbeat has appeared with help from twelve, yes count them twelve Bay Area musicians. This is certainly worth a look

Aram Danesh and The Super Human Crew – The Spot (Mammoth Entertainment)

A lot of CDs come across the desk of this writer and some CDs are from people that no one has really heard but I don’t discriminate, I listen to everything and this CD is no different, from the unheard of artist and his crew. Aram Danesh was born in Iran, he eventually moved to Europe, where he got to play with Carlos Santana on stage. He then moved to the Bay Area (San Francisco) and has assembled a huge cast of musicians to help him with his CD and they number twelve. So he called them the Super Human Crew and they are well known Bay Area musicians. This is his CD, which will be released on July 26th, 2005.

Aram Danesh and The Super Human Crew – The Spot

1.I did it
2.The Spot
3.Elegua
4.Elastic
5.Le Chat Noir
6.Sem Contencao (The Rhythm will conquer)
7.The Spot (Remix)
8.Mais Feliz

1.I did it

This starts immediately with some real groove and some real funkiness. A rapper starts in and that confuses you but music is supposed to be different from everything that you have heard. A guitar really drives this baby and it will hook you within the first twenty seconds, smart music yes. I love the chorus talking about how I did it and the scratches in the background just add that “je ne sais quoi” to it. Its most likely house, with a hip-hop feel, it driving riff reminds me of House of Pain from 1992. I love how music brings you back to your roots or your earlier days, for the ones who can remember. The song is so catchy and you will be singing the chorus by listen number two, don’t ask me why but this just works. What a brilliant start

2.The Spot

This is the title track at track two and I’m still singing the chorus from track one for some reason, this never happens with me. The song has this Brazilian feel with a funky guitar and the same style scratches from track one. This goes from completely plausible to completely bewildering in a matter of seconds, the rapper is here and that’s fine but them another rapper appears and starts to rap in what sounds like Spanish, all with that jazz house feel, think Bebel Gilberto locked in a room with Gilles Peterson with an Hispanic Rapper and Mos Def. I’m not digging this track as much as the first one but I still enjoy it minus the Spanish rap. The breakdown takes this into almost jazz territory and now its stuff that I can groove to.

3.Elegua

This immediately goes into Latin jazz territory, with the saxophone and the diva singing but she’s singing in Spanish here, which is a nice change. Elegua takes the album’s atmosphere down about two notches but this is so relaxing. The PR lady who sent me this, described this CD as a cross between Bebel Gilberto and others and she’s right. I love how the horns just add that sense of bliss to this track. This album has been surprising and out of the ordinary at the same time because track 1 was driving, track 2 was Spanish rapping with English rapping and track 3 is just downbeat jazz. I love how this is not predictable and that’s the way I like my music.

4.Elastic

Now we reach a track with a title that just makes teachers cringe, remember the rubber bands and shooting them in class? Well I digress, this is the halfway point of what has been a fine album and unpredictable in every single way. A guitar drives this from the very start and the drum line is just some drum taps. The rapping comes in again, I don’t know whether I’m starting to get tired of it or I’m starting to get addicted to it. Since I can’t make up my mind and I don’t really need to make up my mind for the purpose of this review, I won’t. I like the line that the rappers use, elastic spraying in all directions, it so reminds me of my school days and the wars we used to have. This brings me to another point, it is funny how music brings up memories of our past, which just one word or one sound. The track doesn’t do that much more but just try to infuse rap into an almost jazzy track, which is a first for me.

5.Le Chat Noir

This means “The Black Cat”, if you don’t speak French, thankfully I do. This uses a riff from a guitar coupled with a lot of other sounds, some computerized sounds and some grinding sounds. The track still has a fierce groove but it is still downbeat jazz and I like how this has been so jazzy but Aram Danesh and his crew show that jazz doesn’t have to be boring or in one mold. This track just proves the point of how good this CD has been and how good you want the remaining three tracks to be. This track uses the talents of Cordovan aka Greg Reeves, who’s CD that I reviewed, many months ago. It is funny to see other people pop up.

6.Sem Contencao (The Rhythm will conquer)

As I’ve described the sounds on here sounding like Bebel Gilberto and other people, it is ironic that Bebel Gilberto wrote this track. As track six starts, you immediately get the funky jazz sounds of Bebel Gilberto and his fingerprints are all over this track. A soulful singer comes in and sings in Spanish and its actually quite laidback. The only sore point of this track is the guy who sings quite quickly at times, the rhythm will conquer and repeats it. I just don’t like it and I think it takes away from the track’s raw power.

7.The Spot (Remix)

Greg Reeves appears again on this CD for the remix of the title track. You cannot mistake the funkiness of this remix, which adds more percussion in the background, which is very nice and some organ style tones join it. I like how the remix has been taken into a very nice downbeat track, which is more relaxing than the original. This is really different and you can sense Greg Reeves’ injection of ideas here. I think whoever decided to add what, has done the right thing and has added an injection of what was needed. Solid remix here and a solid track seven, same goes for the CD.

8.Mais Feliz
Bebel Gilberto joins the fray for the final track on what has been an outstanding album. The same singer that has sung in Spanish on the really downbeat jazz tracks appears again and starts to sing again. I like how it just relaxes you and makes you want more and more of whatever chilled tracks that this CD has given to you. I think I’ll track down some more of Bebel Gilberto’s work. I like how this ends the CD on a great note.

Conclusion:
From the start to the end, this CD is extraordinary and it pushes the boundaries of downbeat music. Aram Danesh not only showcases himself but he showcases the best of the Bay Area. This will be an artist to watch and when this is released on July 26th, 2005, get this, you won’t be disappointed.