Terrace Martin kept rolling after the release of Velvet Portraits, a Grammy-nominated album that preceded continued outside work with the likes of YG, ScHoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, Dreezy, and DJ Mustard. Issued only 15 months after Velvet Portraits, while the multi-instrumentalist was in the middle of touring with Herbie Hancock, The Sounds of Crenshaw, Vol. 1, is credited to the Pollyseeds but is less an off-course move for the leader than it is a continuation down the same winding path. Martin again produces the material, ...
Read More
Terrace Martin kept rolling after the release of Velvet Portraits, a Grammy-nominated album that preceded continued outside work with the likes of YG, ScHoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, Dreezy, and DJ Mustard. Issued only 15 months after Velvet Portraits, while the multi-instrumentalist was in the middle of touring with Herbie Hancock, The Sounds of Crenshaw, Vol. 1, is credited to the Pollyseeds but is less an off-course move for the leader than it is a continuation down the same winding path. Martin again produces the material, is credited with writing most of the originals with mother Rose McKinney, and juggles saxophone, synthesizers, and drum programming, as well as vocals frequently run through a vocoder. Saxophonist Kamasi Washington, keyboardist Robert Glasper, and vocalists Rose Gold and Wyann Vaughn are among the many Velvet Portraits contributors who reappear here. The freewheeling, uplifted spirit likewise continues. Martin and company combine and alternate between groove-oriented contemporary jazz, soul, funk, and hip-hop. Lead single "Intentions" is flirty synth-funk that swings like Mtume circa 1984. It yields to a cover of Janet Jackson circa 1986, specifically "Funny How Time Flies," with a feather-light handling of the main melody underpinned by a subwoofer-working synthesizer bass. Given that pair of highlights and a handful of additional songs featuring mike volleying between Martin, Gold, Vaughn, Preston Harris, and Chachi (aka Problem) -- all of whom possess inviting tenderness as a quality -- there's a stronger, more prominent romantic theme. As for the instrumentals, there's a little more bite to them, highlighted by "Chef E Dubble," "Mama D/Leimert Park," and "Believe," each one involving rumbling rhythms and Martin's piquant alto lines. Nothing whomps like YG's "Twist My Fingaz" or Kendrick Lamar's "LOYALTY.," two of Martin's standout 2016-2017 productions, but curb servin' is clearly not the objective. ~ Andy Kelllman, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of Sounds of Crenshaw Vol. 1 to cart. $27.07, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Sounds of Crenshaw/Ropeadope Rec.
