~ Sheila Anderson ~ WBGO
The New Yorker Goings On About Town
Night Life
Burnt Sugar : “Angels Over Oakanda”
“More than two decades ago, the cultural critic Greg Tate founded Burnt Sugar, a sprawling New York improv unit, currently numbering some two dozen members, that roam freely through all manner of internationally historical styles, particularly Black music. The bassist Jared Michael Nickerson, Tate’s co-leader, underpins “Angels Over Oakanda,” the band’s first album in four years, with rhythms that sweep the music along like a tide. Taking after the late Butch Morris, Tate conducts the players’ improvisations, which are sharp throughout, nowhere more so than over the skintight reggaeton groove on “Repatriation of the Midnight Moors Inna Oakanda.”
~ Michaelangelo Matos
From the hive-mind of Burnt Sugar Arkestra the Chamber massive comes “Angels Over Oakanda.” A new four-song suite of Conducted Improvisations and home studio orchestrations which treat space time and genre like trans-dimensional silly-putty while giving polyphonic and multi-rhythmic dap to the visionary legacies of The Moors and the Black Panther Party.
MC Bruce Lee from NYC’s Downtown Music Gallery says … “It has been around 4 years since the last release of new music was dropped by our good friends, Burnt Sugar. Considering that has been more than 20 years since Greg ‘Ironman’ Tate organized this massive, ever-evolving, beyond categories large ensemble, the Burnt Sugar Arkestra has delivered a dozen wonderful discs (1, 2 & 3 CD sets), each one a gem blending the best of many worlds: funk, jazz, rock, R & B, fusion, prog, hip-hop, psych and much more. Plus spirited collaborations with Butch Morris and Melvin van Peebles. Plus, not so strangely enough, their new one sounds nothing like anything they’ve done previously.
Over those two decades the personnel has also evolved from gig to gig, disc to disc. There are, of course, a handful of regulars: Greg Tate, Jared Michael Nickerson, Avram Fefer, ‘Moist’ Paula Henderson, Ben Tyree, Satch Hoyt and André Lassalle.
‘Angels Over Oakanda’ is a four song suite and Oakanda refers to a section in the Bay Area (Oakland) where Black Culture is appreciated and nurtured. The title track is long and winding and has an infectious, laid-back, funky, dream-like groove. Five horns, alto, tenor & bari saxes, flute & trumpet, all swirling together with several guitars, keyboards and percussion all creating a cosmic kaleidoscope of rainbow colors. That groove is most infectious, slamming, sort of Electric Miles for the 21st Century. So good, you don’t want it to end! One of the things that stands out here is el bassist Jared Michael Nickerson, whose bass is at the center the swirling storm throughout this entire endeavor. On “Repatriation-of-the-Midnight-Moors”, his bass sounds sped up and is even more astonishing! The groove here is right out of drum ’n bass, sly, phat and center to make you want to shake your booty! When I played this piece at store on Monday (8/30/21), a bunch of multi-colored folks all started to dance! John M & myself just had to join in, so we did just that.
Reeds wiz, Satch Hoyt plays some superfine flute throughout this piece. Another great thing about this disc is how well it is produced: totally awesome! On “Oakland Overdrive”, the band really takes off with some superb electric piano, furious electric bass and layers of percussion. Plus the horns are well-produced with some of that seventies, swirling reverb that many of us old-timers recall with deep fondness. The final song is a remix of “Oakanda Overdrive” with Lisala Beatty’s immensely enchanting voice(s) on top! This is the best feel-good record of the year, both your booty and your mind will feel better after you get down to it!”
BSAC "Angels Over Oakanda” Recording Information :
Recording Date : July 29th, 2018
Recording Location : Douglass Recording ~ Brooklyn N.Y.
Recording Engineer : Peter Karl
Mixing Engineers : Greg Tate & Peter Karl
Recording Date : August 12th, 2020 - June 5th, 2021
Recording Location : Jamcarver Studio ~ Jersey City N.J.
Recording/Mixing & Mastering Engineer : V. Jeffrey Smith
Recording Date : January 28th, 2021
Recording Location : Satch Hoyt Art Studio ~ Berlin Germany
Recording Engineer : Turi Agostino ( Personal Mobile Studio )
Recording Date : April 3rd & 4th, 2021
Recording Location : Instant Karamel Recording ~ Harlem N.Y.
Mixing Engineer : Greg ‘Ionman’ Tate
ReMiX Production Date : April 5th - 20th
ReMiX Production Location : tribal broadcast studios A & B ~ Stockholm, Sweden
Engineer / Producer : Marque Gilmore
ReMiX Mastering Production Date : April 22nd - 24th, 2021
ReMiX Mastering Location : Sounday Productions ~ Stockholm, Sweden
Analog Mastering Engineers : Roberto Noel & Marque Gilmore
Recording Date: May 30th, 2021
Recording Location: Sadie's Mix Studio - East Orange, N.J.
Recording Engineer: Lisala Beatty
Mastering Date: July 13th, 2021
Mastering Location: New York N.Y.
Mastering Engineer: Greg Calbi
Recording/Mixing/Mastering Dates: July 29th, 2018 - July 12th,2021
Recording Engineers: Turi Agostino ~ Lisala Beatty ~ Marque Gilmore ~ Peter Karl ~ V. Jeffrey Smith
Mixing Engineers: Marque Gilmore ~ Peter Karl ~ Roberto Noel ~ V. Jeffrey Smith ~ Greg Tate
Mastering Engineers: Greg Calbi ~ Marque Gilmore ~ Roberto Noel
Recording/Mixing/Mastering Locations: Douglass Recording Brooklyn N.Y. ~ Jamcarver Studio Jersey City N.J. ~ Instant Karamel Recording Harlem N.Y. ~ Sterling Sound New York N.Y..
Sadie's Mix Studio East Orange, N.J. ~ Satch Hoyt Art Studio Berlin Germany ~ Sounday Productions Stockholm Switzerland
Album Portrait: Robert Pruitt
Graphic Design: LaRonda Davis
Executive Producers: Greg Tate for Avant Groidd Musica & Jared Michael Nickerson for Burnt Sugar Index LLC
1. Angels Over Oakanda 18:33
2. * inna-Lisala-Over-Oakanda 02:34
3. Repartriation-of-The-Midnight-Moors OAKANDA rmx-2 12:01
4. Lisala-Over-inna-Oakanda 02:47
5. Angels Over Oakanda~Automate No. One 21:57
6. Oakanda Overdrive~Full Ride 07:26
