Dennis González Yells At Eels - Resurrection and Life

Grego Edwards, gapplegatemusicreview

Legendary drummer AACM founder Alvin Fielder was on the verge of death in Chicago when he miraculously revived, fully recuperated, and joined Dennis Gonzalez in Texas in 2010 to work on the latest Yells at Eels project. The result, appropriately titled Resurrection and Life (Ayler 125), has that special something that perhaps reflects triumph against the odds, revival after near extinction.

This is another beautiful Yells at Eels effort. Fielder on drums and Dennis on trumpet, cornet and fluegel are joined by the latter's two sons Aaron on contrabass, Stefan on vibes and drums, and the trombone of Gaika James.

Fielder and all three of the Gonzalez clan contribute the compositions, and they are sparkling. Alvin has the freetime-swingtime mix in good form, Aaron sounds beautiful on the bass, Stefan's vibes are quite good and add much to the group sound, and Gaika plays an extroverted trombone that goes very well with Dennis's soulfully dexterous brass work.

Fielder triumphs, the band triumphs, and Yells at Eels puts together one of its best ever!