The Dance She Spoke

Duende Libre's third album, The Dance She Spoke, finds the band's founders – pianist Alex Chadsey, drummer Jeff ‘Bongo’ Busch and bassist Farko Dosumov – extending their genre-blending jazz with a more intentional incorporation of West African musical traditions. Today, Duende Libre is a quintet that includes vocalist and percussionist Frank Anderson as well as vocalist Chava Mirel. The three original members of the band drive the groove with the accomplished ease of longtime musical companions, and their tight interplay becomes a luminous, jazzy tapestry upon which Anderson and Mirel trade call-and-response vocals.

Six of the album's tunes are based on rhythms that Anderson learned studying dance and percussion in Guinea and Mali. Several (which are also album highlights) feature West African percussionist Thione Diop beautifully propelling the beat with djembé and tama. At times I wished for the tunes to veer towards more memorable intensity and maybe some dynamic surprises, but overall, the album is a delightful musical stroll, permeated by a gentle joy.