Munich’s Web Web pays homage to early 70s spiritual jazz on phenomenal new album

FEATURED RELEASES

Munich’s Web Web pays homage to early 70s spiritual jazz on phenomenal new album

Following the group’s superb 2020 breakthrough album Worshippers, and an expansive remix release, the Munich-based ensemble Web Web, led by mastermind Roberto Di Gioia, teams up with composer, musician, and producer, Max Herre and a string of outstanding guests to release a phenomenal new 70s-era inspired spiritual jazz recording, tilted WEB MAX.

Recorded between 2018 and 2020 in the legendary Munich Mastermix-Studio, the 10-track album came together following Di Gioia and Herre performing a few gigs in 2014 with jazz vocal great Gregory Porter. The two were so inspired by those performances, they decided to link up again for a spiritual jazz recording that celebrates the pioneers from the past while pushing the sound forward.

With Herre’s strong connection to hip-hop and beat-oriented productions, the music nicely captures the cosmic spirit of those now legendary Strata-East and Impulse! recordings of the late sixties and seventies, which were foundational in soulful spiritual jazz, while also incorporating looping sample-like instrumental grooves throughout the session.

Herre holds it down on Wurlitzer, synthesizers, percussion, and backing vocals, while Di Gioia plays Fender Rhodes, piano, organ, synthesizers, and additional percussion on the recording. The session also features some superb performances by Tony Lakatos on flute, alto flute, tenor saxophone, Christian Von Kaphengst on both upright bass, and Fender Jazz-bass, as well as Peter Gall on drums and percussion.

The standout musicianship doesn’t stop there, as WEB MAX features an A-list cast of special guests that include rising harpist phenom Brandee Younger, tenor saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff (also played w/ The Heliocentrics), trumpeter Philip Sindy, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, trumpet jazz giant and co-founder of Strata-East Charles Tolliver, and the late great legend Yusef Lateef (providing the album’s only lyrics).

Brilliant from start to finish, this is an amazing collaborative effort and one of the best modern-day spiritual jazz recordings that has come out in the last decade. I’m not surprise this one is currently flying off shelves.