Herlin Riley

For all of the hard rhythmic driving intensity of New Direction, Riley is not one of those drummers who needs to blast away to captivate listeners and to remain engaged. In these powerful arrangements, you can discern Riley’s fascination with complex rhythm cycles, where each man’s instrument seemingly functions as a direct extension of the drummer, by layering contrasting metric accents one upon another with varying degrees of intensity, often as a prelude to some vigorous theme and variation by this most melodic of drummers.

PERSONNEL:

HERLIN RILEY, drums, vocals
EMMET COHEN, piano
RUSSELL HALL, bass
BRUCE HARRIS, trumpet
GODWIN LOUIS, alto & tenor sax
PEDRITO MARTINEZ, conga
MARK WHITFIELD, guitar on track 1

TRACKS:

01. New Direction
02. A Spring Fantasy
03. The Crossbar
04. The Big Banana
05. Shake Off The Dust
06. Connection To Congo Square
07. Herlin’s Hurdle
08. Hiccup Smooth
09. Harlem Shuffle
10. Tootie Ma