Indestructble Spirit

We Say...

Review by Charles Farrell

Indestructible Spirit is about establishing a groove and sticking with it, setting up pulses that feel right. Percussionist Johnny Blas never overwhelms the listener with complex charts or abstruse rhythmic patterns. Framing his music at some juncture between Salsa, west coast funk and jazz, he favors alternately digging in hard and chilling things out.

But just because the band is fun doesn’t mean it’s lightweight. Johnny Blas is an ace musician who keeps company with fine players. “Oaklands Mambo” gets warmed up for what is to follow, with percussionists laying beats down and pianist Ryan Prior confidently bouncing back and forth between montuno and McCoy Tyner styled single notes. “Puerto Rico Rico” recalls “All Day Music” by the ‘70s band War, and somehow the fact that the guys in Blas’s band aren’t good vocalists makes the tune better; it’s like a group of neighbors gathering in someone’s backyard to relax after a hard day’s work.

Blas switches to soprano sax for a suave tribute to the late trombonist “Barry Rogers.” The leader begins “Afro Rican” with a solid conga solo that moves into a 6/8 soprano sax led (and Coltrane’s Afro Blue influenced) jam. The title track which follows combines pentatonic Fender Rhodes piano, electronics and an impassioned tenor solo all placed over rock-solid percussion. Both “Boogaloo Blas” and “Cha Cha Para Ti” are emphatic descargas, the first driving, the latter relaxed and swinging.

Johnny Blas and company aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel. They’re presenting an entertaining hour of music strong heartbeat, good solos, and catchy hooks that the horn section can sink their teeth into. Sometimes music that just feels good is exactly what’s called for.