| Label |
Concord Records
Andy Milne
(piano, keyboards, vocals on “Trickle Down”), Grégoire
Maret (harmonica), Sean Rickman (drums, except on
“Trickle Down” and “Bad Air”, vocals on “Trickle Down”),
Rich Brown (electric bass)
Recorded
2001
Featuring: Bruce Cockburn (vocals on
“Trickle Down”, “Everywhere Dance” and “Bad Air”, guitar
on “Trickle Down” and “Bad Air”), Kokayi (vocals on
“Trickle Down”, “Bermuda Triangle”, “Only Clave”, “Bad
Air” and “Why 2 K?”)
Also Appearing: Mark Prince
(drums on “Trickle Down” and “Bad Air”, percussion on
“Everywhere Dance”), Rick “Shadrach” Lazar (percussion
on “Everywhere Dance” and “Bad Air”), David Gilmore
(guitar on “In the Moment”), Vashon Johnson (acoustic
bass on “Everywhere Dance”), Vinia Mojica (background
vocals on “Bad Air”), Carla Cook (background vocals on
“Trickle Down”)
For his third group album,
keyboardist Andy Milne has dropped the “Cosmic” and now
just refers to his band as “Dapp Theory”. That aside,
nothing much has really changed; with Y’all Just
Don’t Know, he continues to explore rhythm and
harmony; with elements of hip-hop merging with lessons
learned as part of Steve Coleman’s M-BASE Collective
while, at the same time, telling stories and offering
insights into where he believes humankind is going. It
makes for a heady mix.
Dapp Theory defies
convention. While incorporating influences from a
variety of sources, Milne has fashioned a band that is
difficult to pigeonhole. Yes, there are elements of
hip-hop, fusion, M-BASE, more traditional jazz harmony
and a taste of the avant-garde; but in the capable hands
of Milne and Dapp Theory, it all melds into something
that rings of the familiar yet is completely new.
Milne’s harmonic approach, especially on piano, is
unconventional, to say the least; but is consistently
appealing and always seems to make sense in its
genre-bending approach. While most abstruse on his own
material, Milne shows a clear reverence for what came
before in his reading of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma”,
which features him in an exceptional duet with harmonica
wizard Grégoire Maret.
“Con Alma” segues into
“Bermuda Triangle” which is one of five tunes featuring
Kokayi, a poet who eliminates the preconception that rap
is mindless rhyme. Along with guest Bruce Cockburn,
Kokayi contributes lyrics that are at times playful, at
other times profound.
And what of the connection
with Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn? Cockburn
has always been an activist, using lyrics to affect
social and political change. Milne, a long-time fan,
managed to connect with Cockburn when he was about to
begin a sabbatical, so the timing was perfect.
Cockburn’s plaintive vocals and earthy acoustic guitar
introduce a different texture to that group; “Bad Air”
starts off sounding like it could comfortably fit on a
Cockburn album, but then bassist Rich Brown and drummer
Sean Rickman come in with a quirky rhythm backdrop that
refocuses it within the context of Dapp Theory’s unique
sound.
Dapp Theory strives to forge a new sound
from disparate known entities. With Y’all Just Don’t
Know they succeed in a big way; there is a clear
reverence for the many roots of this music, but a
decided push to move things in new directions as
well.
Reviewed by John Kelman
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