There’s certainly nothing novel about an album filled with love
songs, and the concept isn’t made any more revolutionary by putting it
in a blues setting. But Otis Taylor is no mere blues practitioner, and
these are no mere love songs. Taylor twists lyrical and musical forms
on Pentatonic Wars, from prepubescent interracial love (“I’m Not
Mysterious”) to the woman who leaves her man for another woman (“Mama’s
Best Friend,” based on Taylor’s own mother) and the loss of an
instrument as the metaphor for the loss of a child (“Lost My
Guitar”).
And while Pentatonic Wars is populated with standard blues
depictions of lovers of all varieties — murderous, mournful,
greedy, boastful, wandering — Taylor has placed them all in a
distinctively chilled context, counterpointing his acoustic blues
guitar with Jason Moran’s jazzy piano and Ron Miles’ slinky cornet for
a sound that lives up to Taylor’s own description of the music as
trance-blues. The album’s vocal textures are just as important.
Taylor’s emotive voice hovers somewhere between Ben Harper’s and Taj
Mahal’s, and his daughter Cassie — who takes an occasional lead
and provides a good deal of bass — has an appealing Alicia Keys
quality, perfect for Pentatonic Wars’ unconventional love songs
and atypical smoky jazz/blues atmosphere. — Brian
Baker
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2009.
