Sharp. That’s exactly what drummer Steve Reid’s debut album »Nova« from 1976 gets to the point. Biting organ and brass tones, in addition to drum and cymbal playing that swirls as if sharpened and can hardly be traced in detail, free funk of the most tense calibre. Really nice and uncomfortable, but wonderfully funky in every single second. One of those records that could have crossed your path earlier. Kieran Hebden did a lot to commemorate the drummer, who died in 2010, with a total of five albums that he recorded with Steve Reid, who was not too well known in relation to his abilities – and the colleagues he played with during his career, from Miles Davis to Dionne Warwick – towards the end of his life. On »Nova«, on the other hand, Reid had teamed up with The Legendary Master Brotherhood, a band that itself consisted of lesser-known musicians such as saxophonist Joe Rigby. However, this does not matter. Everyone involved contributes as concentratedly as unpredictably to the success of the event, which is already over after a good half hour. After that, one is sufficiently electrified.
Nova
