Various Artists - The Harlem Experiment

Various Artists
The Harlem Experiment
Ropeadope

In 2001, Ropeadope records began an interesting experiment. They took acclaimed musicians from the same hometown, but from varying musical genres, and put them all in the same studio just to see what happens. The experiment spawned the genre-bending albums the “Philadelphia Experiment” and the “Detroit Experiment”. For their newest venture, Ropeadope headed back to the northeast and zeroed in on Harlem, New York.

The Harlem house band for this album sounds more like a an all-star team, and includes Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar, acclaimed jazz drummer Steve Berrios, and klezmer musician Don Byron. Rounding out the eclectic bunch are Ruben Rodriguez on bass, Eddie Martinez on keys, and arranger Steve Bernstein on trumpet. “The Harlem Experiment” melds jazz, funk, klezmer, afro-beat, and salsa together while stretching instrumental experimentation to its limits.

One of the best aspects of the album is the production. The sound is crystal clear, and the instruments seem to burst from the speakers. On “One For Jackie,” the drums thrust through the chilled out synthesizer and trumpet lines to give the song a dirty yet structured feel. Harlem’s own Cab Calloway’s gets the experimental treatment here when they take his jazz standard, “Reefer Man”, to new heights with a pulsating salsa backbeat. Between the tracks Mums provides radio DJ-like chatter that give the album a conceptual feel.

In the end the experiment is an overwhelming success, leaving us with one of the funkiest albums I’ve heard outside of New Orleans.

- Richard Giraldi

"Reefer Man"


Originally published in OffBeat September 2007