jon hassell • flash of the spirit

1  Flash of the Spirit (Laughter)
2  Night Moves (Fear)
3  Air Afrique (Wind)
4  Out Pours (Kongo) Blue (Prayer)
5  Kaboo (Play)
6  (Lide) Warriors Everywhere (Courage)
7  Dreamworld (Dance)
8  Tales of the Near Future (Clairvoyance)
9  Vampire Dances (Symmetry)
10  Masque (Strength)

Taking a vacation from abstraction, Hassell kicks out a near set of dance tunes with Burkino Faso musicians, Farafina. So great is his exhilaration, he even gives us peeks at the natural timbre of his trumpet. It was produced by Hassell, Daniel Lanois, and Brian Eno. Perhaps the most acoustic of all Jon Hassell albums, "Flash of the Spirit" unites him with the African rhythm group Farafina, who provide a vivid rhythmic foundation for Hassell's trumpeted meanderings. A single, sustained note starts the proceedings and, one by one, awakens the other intruments, which pulse, rise, fall and return throughout the hour-long album. The second half seems like a more pensive restating of the first half--that is, until "Blue(Prayer)," which closes the album. "Blue" is twelve minutes of hypnotic dreamtime propelled by a two-note bass line that simulates the deep breathing of a mountain. It's all a vicarious experiencing of indigenous human life; it is surprising not to hear more of Hassell on movie soundtracks. An earthy harbinger of "City: Works of Fiction," "Flash of the Spirit" is (was) a hard-to-find jewel in Hassell's amazing body of work.

Jon Hassell • trumpet, keyboards
Soungalo Coulibaly • flute, percussion
Baba Diarra • percussion, balafon
Tiawara Keira • drums
Mahama Konaté • balafon
Tiawara Nei • ta • drums
Ben Palm • drums
Seydou Quattara • drums
Souleyname Sanou • percussion
Paco Ye • drums, djembe
Mahama Konté • balafon
Dan Schwartz • bass

Produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Jon Hassell