Best of 2017 #34: Web Web – “Oracle” (Compost Records)

The Web Web quartet references the classic Strata East label in the liner notes for Oracle, and it’s more than just a haphazard shout-out.  Running through the blood of pianist Roberto Di Gioia, saxophonist Tony Lakatos, bassist Christian von Kaphengst and drummer Peter Gall are those times when hard bop ceded ground to spiritual jazz and avant-garde, where a thick groove and a thicker melody might begin with the blues, but likely won’t end there, and where a sense of song structure is just kindling for a wild conflagration.  1970s jazz too often gets associated with divergences into more saccharine forms of music and production.  The seventies were a magical time for creative reinvention of jazz forms, where the pain of the blues and the joy of the soul came together in vivid imagery and volatile motion.  Oracle celebrates those times and keeps them in fashion in the present day… both are excellent reasons to raise a glass and toast this supremely enjoyable recording.

Music from Munich, Germany.

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