Platypus in Bloomington, MN

In the early 1970s, different jazz artists had different ways of acknowledging funk and soul.
Miles Davis
,
John McLaughlin
's
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Weather Report
Larry Coryell
, and
Chick Corea
Return to Forever
played outright fusion; their music was an innovative, forward-thinking mixture of jazz, rock, and funk. But at
Creed Taylor
CTI Records
, the electric jazz of
Freddie Hubbard
Joe Farrell
, and others wasn't really fusion --
CTI
had more of a "post-bop meets funk and pop" outlook. And similarly,
Gerard Presencer
's 1997 recording
Platypus
combines jazz and funk without being outright fusion; on this melodic CD, the flugelhornist sounds like a post-bopper who has started incorporating funk rhythms and using electric instruments.
Presencer
's appealing tone is greatly influenced by
Hubbard
(with hints of
), and original pieces like
"In the Air"
and
"Still Moanin'"
wouldn't have been out of place on a
recording that
Taylor
produced in the early 1970s.
(which employs
Jason Rebello
on keyboards,
John Paricelli
on guitar,
Andrew Cleyndert
on bass, and
Jeremy Stacey
on drums) isn't innovative or remarkable, but it's definitely enjoyable -- and you have to admire the fact that
wrote everything on the CD instead of inundating listeners with overdone standards. ~ Alex Henderson