Santi Debriano: Flash of the Spirit
Truth Revolution Records
Like its creator, Flash of the Spirit spans multiple traditions. After his family emigrated from Panama when he was four, acoustic bassist Santi Debriano grew up in Brooklyn; later enrolled as an ethnomusicology graduate student at Wesleyan University, he read Robert Farris Thompson's Flash of the Spirit, whose questions about the place of African traditions within modern Black American culture resonated deeply with the young student. Debriano's comment that the book “describes my ancestral struggle to stay present in the many worlds I live in but also to never forget where I came from” applies as much to the recording itself. With seven kindred adventurers in tow, the bassist, currently residing on Staten Island, distills into musical form his ties to the cultural heritages that have made him who he is.
Many miles were traveled before the release. In the late ‘70s, Debriano worked with saxophonist Archie Shepp and in the years thereafter luminaries such as Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, David Murray, and Larry Coryell. With that kind of history under his belt, it's no surprise that Flash of the Spirit features covers of tunes by Kenny Barron, Kenny Dorham, and Ornette Coleman in addition to the leader's originals. Helping the bassist flesh out his vision are alto saxophonist Justin Robinson, flutist Andrea Brachfeld, pianist Bill O'Connell, drummers Tommy Campbell and Francisco Mela (on separate tracks), Brazilian percussionist Valtinho Anastacio, and, on one piece, mandolin player Tim Porter. Bop, blues, Latin, and Brazilian music are but four of the forms drawn upon during the ten-song set.
Clearly a great deal of thought went into track sequencing. Up first, Debriano's “Awesome Blues” bolts from the gate with urgency. The leader's bass is featured in short solo statements, but the tune impresses for the ferocity with which the collective digs in. Robinson soars in his first at-bat before Brachfeld, O'Connell, and Debriano step up for their own inspired turns. After opening the release in thunderous hard-bop mode, the bassist cools things down with the blues-shuffle swing of “Funky New Dorp,” the title an affectionate nod to Debriano's Staten Island community. If the saxophonist's solo's a tad too voluble for my taste, the silky smooth one delivered by Brachfeld satisfies in all the right ways. There's no denying, however, the two constitute an inspired front-line and do much to make Flash of the Spirit as pleasurable as it is.
Debriano breaks from the rousing tone established by the opening pieces with, first, a commanding solo bass treatment of “For Heaven's Sake” and, secondly, a dramatic piano-and-bowed bass meditation by O'Connell titled “Beneath the Surface.” Written by the leader for his three children, the folk reverie “Toujours Petits” returns the album to expansive ground, with Brazilian colours blossoming through the inclusion of Anastacio's percussion, the leader's guitar, Brachfeld's darting flute, and wordless vocalizing in a Milton Nascimento vein. The later “Ripty Boom” reinstates the blues vibe with a swinging quintet performance that would've sounded as much at home in the ‘60s as now.
On the covers tip, Coleman's “Humpty Dumpty” is as melodically enticing as ever, though Debriano's treatment is perhaps more notable for being a daring free jazz interpretation. Flash of the Spirit takes a heartfelt ballad turn with Dorham's “La Mesha” (Robinson and Brachfeld elevating the tune with emotionally expressive solos) and concludes with a rhythmically punchy, piano-free reading of Barron's “Voyage.” Many artistic genres are explored on the release, which in another's hands might've proved its undoing. Debriano's guiding sensibility and his sincere connection to those traditions helps the recording retain a cohesive character, and his always energized bass playing also does much to ensure a common thread ties the release together. Others appear with him on the release, but Flash of the Spirit registers as something of a self-portrait, given how much it reflects the life story of its creator.February 2021