Kip Hanrahan Exotica CD

Jack Bruce tackles material as challenging and new for the 1990s as psychedelic bluesy rock was to the 1960s. The songs are dense, compact and rhythmically urgent ruminations on political meaning in a world where socialism has collapsed but freedom has not been forthcoming. Helping out in a brilliant manner is Don Pullen, the jazz pianist whose ability to be melodically sensitive while he furiously pounds the keys is rivaled only by McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor... Jack's voice here is a wonderfully melodic instrument.

Personnel includes: Kip Hanrahan (vocals, percussion); Don Pullen (keyboards); Leo Nocentelli (electric guitar); Jack Bruce (fretless bass); Robbie Ameen (drums); Milton Cardona (percussion); David Sanchez, Andy Gonzales.
Personnel: Kip Hanrahan; Lucy Penabaz, Leo Noncentelli, Anthony Garille, David Sanchez , Don Pullen, J.T. Lewis, Alfredo Triff, Mario Rivera, Milton Cardona, Ralph Peterson, Jr., Richie Flores, Jack Bruce, Robby Ameen, Andy Gonzales.
Audio Remasterer: Greg Calbi.
Recording information: RPM Sound Studios, New York, NY (02/1992-05/1992); Sorcerer SOund, New York, NY (02/1992-05/1992).
Director: Kip Hanrahan.
Photographers: Petra Sepulveda; Richard Rodriguez ; Charles Reilly; Ashkan Sahihi.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Jack Bruce; Don Pullen; J.T. Lewis; Anthony Garille; David Sanchez ; J. Lewis; Marlo Riviera; Lucy Penabaz; Multon Gardena; Rebble Ameen; Nancy Hanrahan; Alfredo Triff; Mario Rivera; Milton Cardona; Andy González; Ralph Peterson; Anthony Carrillo; Richie Flores; Robert Ameen; Andy Gonzales; Leo Nocentelli.
Kip Hanrahan keeps assembling eclectic casts and creating unpredictable, unclassifiable sessions. No lead singer is identified, but it sure sounds like bassist Jack Bruce stepped forward to the microphone for a series of half-sung, half-spoken performances. They're a decidedly mixed bag, but the music is strong throughout. The cast includes pianist Don Pullen, Bruce, percussionist Andy Gonzalez, drummer Ralph Peterson and many other jazz and pop luminaries. Whether they're doing intense Afro-Latin, chaotic free jazz or rock-flavored material, what's happening underneath the vocals demands attention. There are enough intriguing moments on this disc to make it worth repeated listenings, if only to try and figure out just what Hanrahan's doing. ~ Ron Wynn
Recorded primarily in New York City during the first half of 1992, the bracing EXOTICA sets aside the more overt thematic ties of many other Kip Hanrahan releases in favor of separate songs. As with all of his work, though, they are linked, mostly by the seductive rhythmic base given to all the music.
The opening "You Can Tell a Guy By His Anger" is one of the funkiest numbers ever to emerge from this always-evolving crew. Jack Bruce's singing is a delight on this song, as well as over the course of the whole album (he also plays bass throughout). He easily steps between dramatically impassioned exuberance and near-whispered pleas. Bruce and Hanrahan also co-wrote "G-d Is Great," recorded a year earlier in England. The other constant here is pianist Don Pullen, an important collaborator on quite of few of Hanrahan's albums.

Down Beat (5/94, p.46) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...An intriguingly beautiful and rhythmically riveting collection of tunes....An intoxicating brew of Afro-Cuban pulsings, funk grooves, and jazz passion....[Hanrahan's] crafted lyrics...are at turns introspective, discursive, and sensual..."