Black Mahogani II

Kenny Dixon Jr.’s second album release of 2004 is built around When She Follows, an 18-minute live psychedelic soul jazz excursion that in mood is reminiscent of Miles’ In A Silent Way. Dropping his usual sound palette of disco and jazz samples, Dixon instead uses drums, keys, saxophone and an unfaltering b-line courtesy of a stand-up double bass to create a pure — with no sign of house or techno — jazz jam, which possesses a sauntering menace. The second half of the album is made up of three other tracks: Rectify, a soul-jazz vocal tune that morphs from stark to soft over its seven minutes. Dirty Little Bonus Beats is a deep house take on When… and you also get an eerie, drifty Reprise of When… too, at which point you realise that he’s essentially taken the dance music convention of a main mix, a dub mix and a DJ tool/bonus beats and applied it to the jazz form. At just over half an hour it’s a thin album no doubt, but it’s a very good thin album.