FRANCISCO MORA CATLETT  

OUTERZONE / Premier Cru, 2007

Description: Featuring Marshall Allen on alto sax & flute, Craig Taborn on keyboards & bass keys, Carl Craig on synth & space programming, John Douglass & Dwight Adams on trumpets, Cassious Richmond on alto sax (1 track), Brian Hollis & Andrew Daniels on percussion and Francisco Mora Catlett on assorted percussion, arranging and composing. The wonderful thing about working here at DMG is when someone you've never met or heard of comes in and hands you their disc and it blows you (me) away. This is certainly the case here! Francisco Mora Catlett is a fine percussionist and composer who was a member of Max Roach's M'Boom and played with the Sun Ra Arkestra for more than a decade in the 70's and 80's.

'OuterZone' opens with an impressive blast of synth, sax, trumpet and percussion called "Space Chord." Every other track is another short blast of a "Space Chord". "Saints of Congo Square" is dedicated to New Orleans' finest: Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden and Baby Dodds. It features some inspired alto sax and trumpets wailing together over an impressive Afro-Cuban percussion groove. Each "Space Chord" provides a short, uplifting percussive interlude before we sail into the next tune. "Voodoo" is for Miles Davis & Jimi Hendrix and again both trumpets (one muted) and alto sax play their righteous parts over another funky. Latiny groove. Considering I hadn't heard of either trumpet player before this, both are great and distinctly different in tone and approach. That muted trumpeter is somewhat Miles-like and sounds pretty amazing. One of the things about this disc that makes it special is that it is so well produced, everything seems to fit no matter how far out it gets. The spirit of Sun Ra is at the center without any of the totally-out horn blasting that tended to scare some folks away, although on a few of the "Space Chords" they do get close. Even the occasional drum machine beats never hold this disc back from being consistently engaging and infectious at times. Francisco's righteous percussion is at the center of most of these pieces and holds the thread together throughout. It is rare that music that makes one want to dance is also so spirited and challenging to listen to as well, but many of these pieces work well on both levels. 'OuterZone' is this week's great under-recognized gem. Check it out for yourself and see what I mean. - BLG / Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

Francisco Mora Catlett ‎– Mora!
Label: SHOUT! Productions ‎– SHOUT-255
Series: Deep Jazz Reality –
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Paper Sleeve
Country: Japan
Released: 26 Sep 2012

RIVER DRUM

Premier Cru, 2005 

Description: From 2005, this is an earlier gem from former Sun Ra & M'Boom percussionist, Francisco Mora Catlett. It features four different groups including a string quartet on one track. The players include Marcus Blegrave & John Douglass on trumpets, Alex Harding & Vincent Bowens on saxes, Sherman Mitchell on trombone, Craig Taborn or Kenny Cox on piano, Rodney Whittaker on bass, Emile Borde on steel drums, and Alberto Nacif, Jerry LeDuff & Francisco Mora Catlett on drums & percussion.
'River Drum' is one of the best percussion centered discs I've heard in a long while. Francisco wrote, arranged and produced this wonderful disc. I find this music to by joyous, jubilant and rhythmically seductive. The rich layer of interlocking percussion pushes this music to one great groove after another. I only know of a few of the musicians on this disc, but everyone plays superbly throughout. It is always great to hear local bari sax giant Alex Harding wail and he gets a few chances to stretch out here as well. The other (tenor) saxist here, Vincent Bowens also plays with fire and that creative spirit. Special mention to bassist Rodney Whitaker who plays some excellent acoustic bass throughout, bubbling and burning when need be. Steel drummer, Emile Borde, also sparkles all over the place, as do both trumpeters, the legendary Marcus Belgrave and John Douglass. Considering that this disc is some 75-minutes long, I must admit that it is consistently spirited and creative. The only Latin (oriented) jazz that has knocked me out in years comes from Kip Hanrahan. It would seem the great Francisco Mora Catlett has given Kip a run for his money. - BLG / Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

WORLD TRADE MUSIC

Community, 1999 

Description: This is an older studio project from 1999 which features Francisco Mora Catlett on drums, percussion & compositions, Craig Taborn & Kenny Cox on pianos, Marcus Belgrave & Nik Pena on trumpets, Vincent Bowens, Alex Harding & Cassius Richmond on saxes & flute, Sherman Mitchell on trombone, Rodney Whittaker on bass and Andrew Daniels, Jerome LeDuff & Alberto Nacif on percussion. Famed Detroit producer Carl Craig has much respect for his former homey, Mexican/American percussion hero Francisco Mora Catlett. So much respect that he lets Francisco utilize his studio when need be and Craig released this disc on his own label, Community Projects. Sadly, this disc didn't have great distribution or recognition when it first came out. Things have got to change...
The introduction is called "Welcome" and it consists of jungle sounds and layers of Latin percussion. "Iron Master" is a Yoruba traditional song and features two softly swirling pianos with simmering percussion. You might recall elder Blue Note legend, pianist Kenny Cox from two great albums with the Contemporary Jazz Quintet in the late 1960's. Both pianists here have obvious respect for one another play together superbly. Acoustic bassist Rodney Whitaker also stands out providing ample support and taking the occasional spirited bass solo. Four of these tracks are traditional Yoruda songs and each one has a special groove and/or vibe with enchanting percussion at the center of each piece. Although Francisco is the main drummer throughout this disc, the other percussionists are on just a couple of songs each. It is Mr. Catlett's spirited drumming that is at the center of each piece, shaping and directing the joyous currents the run throughout this entire disc. There are number of highlights here like the hypnotic mbira & tranquil trumpet on "The Other Side of the Mask" as well as that most lyrical sax & melody on "Cultural Warrior". There is a most uplifting spirit that runs through this entire disc like a lifeline to & from the source. It seems sad that it took ten years for someone to notice how special and overlooked this disc is. I guess it is never too late to give some credit where credit is due. So here it is - rejoice! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery