Eddie Chacon
presented
Pleasure, Joy and Happiness
quietly as the last chapter of an unusual and noncontinuous career that had peaked commercially three decades earlier. Astonished by the album's warm reception and the places it sent him to perform, the singer/songwriter continued his travels and recording activity with simpatico producer, keyboardist, and writing partner
John Carroll Kirby
. The making of its
Stones Throw
follow-up took place in an Ibizan villa -- at the invitation of an appreciative admirer -- and at home in Los Angeles. Featuring support from drummer
Will Logan
, percussionist
David Leach
, trombonist
Elizabeth Lea
, and flutist/saxophonist
Logan Hone
(a contributor to
Kirby
's
Conflict
and
Septet
),
Sundown
is altogether livelier than
Chacon
's intended 2020 farewell. Additional players notwithstanding, the LP is another work of sophisticated simplicity with deliberation seemingly eschewed in favor of spontaneity. Due in significant part to
Leach
's active hands and the frequent presence of
Hone
's woodwinds, the material evokes gentle spiritual and Brazilian jazz almost as much as it does smooth private-press soul.
again is a benevolent everyman sage of sorts with a laconic style of writing that suits his voice, an instrument that is rich, honey-sweet, and slightly crisp like baklava. He's still trying to rid his head of bad thoughts ("Thinkin' way too much...barely hangin' on," "I got haunted memories in the place of good times"), but there's a little more spring in his step this time. Lead single "Holy Hell" is a carpe diem jam that starts positive ("Got each other -- that's a start") and becomes heavenly when
's synthesizer curlicues, as cheerful and whistleable as those of
Boz Scaggs
' "Lowdown," are accompanied by
Lea
. The lyrics of "Step by Step" read like bromides but are conveyed with such calmness and goodwill that they effectively start the album with truly pacific grace. The passing of time, either implied or explicit, is a constant theme, whether
is struggling with it or disregarding it. Both sides of the album end with pieces using the sun as a metaphor. On the first side, "Sundown" ("lost so many friends along the way") brilliantly works lapping rhythms that devolve into a stammer and dissolve. "The Morning Sun," combining
Logan
's craftiest playing with bounding
low end that recalls
Larry Heard
, ends the LP with an organic house groove ideal for early daylight. Too late to stop now;
will be the second part of a trilogy, at least (right?). ~ Andy Kellman