Moodymann - Black Mahogani II [Peacefrog Records]

Format: Smoked coloured LP with obi-strip.
CAT: PFGXX057LP

Released in limited numbers alongside Black Mahogani back in 2004 and never reissued, Black Mahogani II marked a departure from Kenny Dixon Jr.’s usual house sound, featuring recordings stemming from his late night sessions with his jazz band. The centrepiece is “When She Follows”, an eighteen minute deep jazz session combining live drum rolls with an electric Fender Rhodes, a languid acoustic bassline, and distant saxophone, all wrapped around an amorphous vocal which floats endlessly, as if it were an epic Detroit techno cut performed by Gil Scott-Heron’s 1970s band. Incredible music. “Rectify” follows in a similar vein - jazz within a Detroit techno framework - while the two closing cuts, “Dirty Little Bonus Beats” and “When She (Reprise)”, are revisions of the lead cut. The former tweaks the bassline, adds vocal sighs and more pronounced percussion, while the latter cranks up the tempo incorporating a totally unhinged techno synth. Brutal.