| So Jah Say (Theocratic Records International, 2005) *GUEST REVIEW* Oregon-based Jah Levi has been making reggae music for many years but remains a low-key figure on the reggae scene. Not that he has trouble finding collaborators -- So Jah Say credits a hefty 48 singers and players, including familiar names like Prezident Brown and Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace. No matter the participants, though, Jah Levi has always called his backing crew the Higher Reasoning, and the spirituality implied by that moniker has been an integral part of his music from the start. Jah Levi's sound can accurately be called roots reggae if you want to cut to the chase, but these roots nearly always have their foundations stretched to accommodate as much vocal and instrumental enriching as possible. The songs tend to be lengthy and layered, yet spatial enough that familiar reggae ingredients (Nyabinghi drums, deejay breaks, melodica riffs) easily share the riddim with elements from further afield (rockish guitar solos, Persian vocals, mandolin courtesy of the great David Grisman). There's a noticeable amount of borrowing from other lyrical and musical sources (including the Abyssinians and the Beatles), creating a sincere sense of communion that in lesser hands could have easily come across as a lack of imagination or originality. Most keenly felt is the way Jah Levi and Co. create reggae that's nearly orchestral in scope while injecting the familiar ease of, say, folk or jam band music. Taken as a whole, the album presents a wide palette of multi-cultural, multi-spiritual vibes, all carried along on a current of pulsating reggae that feels every bit like the vital, globally-reaching music that it is. Included in this two-disc set is a DVD of Jah Levi and the Higher Reasoning live in San Francisco in 2004, 17 pieces strong and conveying the same humble unifying authority as their studio work. These folks must really love each other -- it's pretty crowded up on that stage! Jah Levi himself presides over the music from front and center, a slight, pensive presence in white robe and tam, a wispy gray beard belying his otherwise youthful countenance. He lets the many facets of the music come across with graceful simplicity, as do the numerous totally attuned participants surrounding him. - Tom Orr |
| Track Listing CD: 1. So Jah Say 2. Show I the Way 3. Ina Babylon 4. Let it Be 5. Shedrach, Meshech and Abednigo 6. Prayer for Works 7. Jah Jah is the Way 8. Declaration of Human Rights 9. Together DVD: 1. Let it Be 2. Prayer for Works 3. Ina Babylon 4. Together 5. Telephone 6. Show I the Way 7. Freedom 8. So Jah Say 9. Declaration of Human Rights 10. Pacha Mama 11. Studio 1 12. Black Star Liners 13. Jah Jah is the Way 14. Satta |
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