The Harlem Experiment

Ropeadope records came up with a brilliant concept in 2001 that basically involved 4 steps.

1. Find a City with a rich musical History.
2. Find Adept musicians from Different genres that are based in that city. 3.
Get them together in a room.
4. Press Record.

This project became the Philadelphia Experiment (Wordplay!) with Avant-Garde Pianist Uri Caine, Hiphop magician ?uestlove and living bass legend Christian Mcbride. The music created was exactly what everyone hoped for. Seriously funky, out-there, musically heavy jazz. Ropeadope repeated this 'Experiment" with Detroit in 2003 creating an album that had more of an electronic flavour. But to me, the most accessable 'Experiment' is 2007's Harlem Experiment.

Featuring Harlem heavies such as Carlos Alomar, Steve Bernstein, Don Byron, Eddie Martinez, bassist Ruben Rodriguez, and drummer Steve Berrios, the Harlem experiment is less musically indulgent than the Philadelphia Experiment, and more focused than the Detroit Experiment. The emphasis here is on solid melodic and rhythmic performances that are well placed and never masturbatory.

While the Detroit and Philaelphia experiments, are amazing musically, there is a sense that the albums had been padded with extraneous material (eg. 8 minute songs that should have been 5). Not here. In that sense, the Harlem experiment is relatively stripped down, and more focused on the performance of the song and less with jamming.

The guests on the album add an interesting flavor to the music. The version of ''A Rose in Spanish Harlem" on the album, featuring James Hunter is a beautiful ballad that feels like something between soul music and samba, while their rendition of Cab Calloway's classic "Reefer Man" featuring Taj Mahal on vocals is a delightfully upbeat, clarinet heavy take on the tune.





The instrumentals on the album are also top notch, blending genres that have evolved in Harlem like Hiphop, Soul, Funk, and Jazz. Their take on the Yiddish classic 'Bei mir bist du schön' is a prime example of this--it infuses funk, soul, and a pinch of hiphop into an unexpected musical candidate.

The Harlem experiment is an extremely focused album that is very easy to pick up and very difficult to put down. Though Detroit and Philadelphia were amazing, they do not stand up well to repeated listens( At least in a row). The Harlem Experiment, by emphasizing music over musicians, is a thoroughly enjoyable project and i can only hope Ropeadope keeps putting out quality projects like these (New Orleans Experiment...PLEASE!!).


www.myspace.com/harlemexp