Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
It's somewhat amazing that this bold, bizarrely eclectic CD by three guys from Minneapolis would come out on a French label. All three players on this CD are renowned session musicians who have played with everybody from Miles Davis to Billy Joel, but News From the Jungle is anything but the slick production you might expect from a trio of session men. The album starts out with a heavy, menacing sound portrait of a bad night in a bad neighborhood, with Sonny Thompson grimly reciting crime statistics over a pounding beat, wailing guitar, and a collage of police calls and urban sound effects. About a third of the way through the nine-minute track, the vocals stop and the guitar takes over for a instrumental freakout that is jaw-dropping. After this long, tense start things swerve suddenly into free jazz for "Take the Coltrane," and the experimental, improvisational feel doesn't let up from there. Several of the pieces that follow have intensely distorted guitars and pounding drum and basslines that verge on heavy metal, but with a freedom, vigor, and wildness that take them far into other territory. When this approach is applied to Duke Ellington pieces, the result is eye-opening. The bizarre version of "The Mooche" is a change of pace, the normally swinging piece given a ghostly, eerie feel by slow-motion tempo and bent guitar notes. The restrained, tasteful vocal performances by "Sonny Thompson" are another surprise; he sounds relaxed and natural on a solo performance of the Burt Bacharach chestnut, "This Guy's in Love With You," which is a refreshing change of pace from the crunching performances that precede it. The stylistic shifts throughout this album may distance some listeners, but those who are adventurous will revel in the unpredictability as well as the virtuosity of this exceptional trio.
© Richard Foss /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
SONNY THOMPSON, Author, Interprète Instrumental, Interprète Vocal, AssociatedPerformer - Jef Lee Johnson, Composer, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Duke Ellington, ComposerLyricist - SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Duke Ellington, ComposerLyricist - SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Burt Bacharach, Composer - Hal David, Author - SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, Interprète Vocal, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Duke Ellington, ComposerLyricist - SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bland, Interprète Instrumental, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
SONNY THOMPSON, Interprète Instrumental, Interprète Vocal, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jef Lee Johnson, MainArtist
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Duke Ellington, ComposerLyricist - Jef Lee Johnson, Interprète Instrumental, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Album review
It's somewhat amazing that this bold, bizarrely eclectic CD by three guys from Minneapolis would come out on a French label. All three players on this CD are renowned session musicians who have played with everybody from Miles Davis to Billy Joel, but News From the Jungle is anything but the slick production you might expect from a trio of session men. The album starts out with a heavy, menacing sound portrait of a bad night in a bad neighborhood, with Sonny Thompson grimly reciting crime statistics over a pounding beat, wailing guitar, and a collage of police calls and urban sound effects. About a third of the way through the nine-minute track, the vocals stop and the guitar takes over for a instrumental freakout that is jaw-dropping. After this long, tense start things swerve suddenly into free jazz for "Take the Coltrane," and the experimental, improvisational feel doesn't let up from there. Several of the pieces that follow have intensely distorted guitars and pounding drum and basslines that verge on heavy metal, but with a freedom, vigor, and wildness that take them far into other territory. When this approach is applied to Duke Ellington pieces, the result is eye-opening. The bizarre version of "The Mooche" is a change of pace, the normally swinging piece given a ghostly, eerie feel by slow-motion tempo and bent guitar notes. The restrained, tasteful vocal performances by "Sonny Thompson" are another surprise; he sounds relaxed and natural on a solo performance of the Burt Bacharach chestnut, "This Guy's in Love With You," which is a refreshing change of pace from the crunching performances that precede it. The stylistic shifts throughout this album may distance some listeners, but those who are adventurous will revel in the unpredictability as well as the virtuosity of this exceptional trio.
© Richard Foss /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 01:01:18
- Main artists: Jef Lee Johnson
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Universal Music Division Decca Records France
- Genre: Jazz
© 2001 Universal Music Jazz France ℗ 2001 Decca Records France
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.