A cerebral
soul-jazz
trio gives up some art and some
funk
with guest horn players and guitarist
Marc Ribot
. They call it
"Shuck It Up,"
and rightly so, since they're neither as dissonant nor as ironic as many of their peers playing around downtown New York City. But that doesn't explain why these three don't swing as hard playing
Monk
,
Coltrane
, and
King Sunny Ade
as they do laying down their own earnest grooves and dismantling
Bob Marley
for mixing up with the
. Whether it's insecurity, indifference, or the physical chops they haven't developed to match their minds is for demanding listeners to decide. Or else it's all the same dilemma and will go away with time, just like the band's slow tunes. ~ Brian Beatty