Between Dreaming And Joy - Jeff Coffin (2022)

Ideated from: The 65th Grammys just went down. While I’m of the opinion that the Grammys are mostly a self-congratulatory circle-jerk for vertically-integrated media corporations to sell TV ad time, I do often hear about some good records I had missed.

This record reportedly features “8 bassists, 6 drummers, 5 guitar players, 4 keyboardists, a set of Middle Eastern frame drums, Brazilian percussion, Moroccan vocals, a turntable artist, multiple horns, an ice cream truck, a Hungarian Tarogato and an African Ngoni”, though I assume not all on the same track; that would be a bit busy.

I hadn’t recognized Coffin’s name, but he spent a long time playing with Bela Fleck and is currently the sax player for Dave Matthews Band (RIP LeRoi). This is a pandemic-era work, pieced together from those dozens of musicians and put into a pretty cohesive package.

I should probably use “funk” and “afrobeat” tags with a little bit of shade on the edge, but my system isn’t that advanced. Like Bela Fleck and Dave Matthews, Coffin plays what he wants and doesn’t worry too much about what genre it fits into. It’s on the lighter side of any of these genres, but by no means lazy or weak. You can hear everyone having fun, and it helps the product tremendously.

A nominee for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (whatever tf that means), which was won by personal favorites Snarky Puppy.