Classic Day – Conductor Weldon

Jazz fusion has always held a special place in the personal heart, especially for records that were covered in a thick layer of untouched dust for years. Pieces like The Sisters coming from Weldon Irvine are glorious and have a nature to satisfy the ears without stemming too far from an unapproachable standpoint.

Opening the well with the title track, “The Sisters” is a stomp through the streets of New York in white platform boots and velvet pants. Collaborating styles from yesteryear, The Sisters is a collection of previously unreleased material dating from the late 70s.

As a digestible 11 tracks, however, the record was first released in 1998 and gives this perfect introduction to the ambitious and frankly ambidextrous stylings from Irvine.

Displayed as a composer, Irvine takes tracks like “Morning Sunrise” where Westside Gunn could easily slide over the classy and soulful performance. Creating a graceful and incredibly well-timed style, “Morning Sunrise” immediately becomes the stand-out for The Sisters.

A track that desperately needs to be dissected and repeated, “Morning Sunrise” has this rhythmic progression and incorporates splashes of shimmering lights disguised as horns to prowl in the backing. This warmth is encapsulating and treats the audience as if they were the most important factor to the world. The backing vocals take notes from Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, and Bobby Broom, who together support Don Blackman.

Other tracks take “Sexy Eyes” and become more fit for the club or discotheque where the thumping nearly slap bass style of funk overpowers the audience in comparison to other pieces. While it isn’t nearly as glorious or as progressive as “Morning Sunrise,” the emotion here is different and the vibrations are different.

Irvine steps further into the funk hole where the audience can either tighten their star-studded glasses and strap in, or dive back into other loving slow jams like “Heard It All Before” which is less of a conquest and more of a slow journey through public access television soundtracks.

The perfect record for a Sunday afternoon, clothed nearly entirely in silk garments, The Sisters is a three-act play of energy, beauty, and finally overwhelming warmth through happiness. The tonality is beautiful and the nearly 40-minute record spins better as a smaller sectional rather than as a full release.

Listen To The Sisters Here!!! – Spotify/iTunes