Time was when the sunshine filled sounds of the steel pan drums were reserved for the calypso rhythms of the Caribbean. Well that was then but this is now and with her brand new release, ‘Chillin After Five’, steel pan player Bickley Rivera is all set to add a new dimension to this distinctive instrument. With a brand of music that she describes as ‘Nujazz & Chillout’, but which in reality is where smooth jazz meets chill, she has come up with a great collection of eleven original compositions and one fabulous cover that overall cannot fail to get her noticed.
Bickley Rivera began her recording career in 1985 and moved into the Latin and Caribbean genre in 1992 when, with her husband Nelson, she formed the group Cuba Libre. Now, in collaboration with producer, guitarist and co-writer Greg Minnick, she is using ‘Chillin After Five’ to reveal that the steel pan has more to offer than the island vibes with which it is traditionally associated. Featured performances from international recording artists Praful, Magrus Borges and Ed Calle all add to the quality and the CD opens with the mid tempo title cut that shows off the feeling Bickley has for chilled out yet edgy contemporary jazz. Here she features on both steel pans and backing vocals while the playing of Richard Brookins on flute serves to endow the entirely piece with a delicious velvety quality.
‘Sending My Love’ is possibly the most overtly Caribbean offering on the album but, given its superb rhythm and melody, is none the worse for that. The CD’s only cover finds Bickley doing a terrific ‘smooth jazz meets chill’ version of the Minnie Ripperton classic ‘Lovin You’ and the first track to be offered up for radio play is ‘Groovin in Rio’. Its sunshine filled Latin groove owes much to handsome flute from Paul Messina, Bickley’s steel pans and great guitar from Greg Minnick while the hypnotic chill beat of ‘Step into my Lounge’ moves closer to what lies at the heart of this intriguing project.
In fact once into chill mode ‘Chillin After Five’ stays firmly there and with tunes such as ‘In The Night’ and the turned down yet claustrophobic ‘Caress’ Bickley captures the essence of what chill is all about. In similar vein the cavernously deep ‘Engage in the Universe’ demonstrates how well Bickley understands the genre yet, in terms of deep chill, there is nothing to equal the stunning ‘Transformation’. Bickley’s sparse vocals are again on the money while the steel pans create a mood that is both sublime and trance like.
Elsewhere, the jazz chill motif is reinforced by ‘Take Me Away’ where a smooth steel pan melody is spliced with an intense beat and when Ed Calle steps up on sax for ‘Dream of Ibiza’ he helps evoke the aura of this famed Iberian island. It is a clear Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite and another is ‘Pan Funk’ which puts Bickley firmly back into smooth jazz territory. This sizzling number includes wonderful sax and flute from German born and Holland based Praful who is currently (and paradoxically) making quite a name for himself on the chill scene.
For more on Bickley Rivera go to www.chillinafterfive.com
