Mac Gollehon & THE HISPANIC MECHANICS

PISTOLEROS

WFO Music

Mac Gollehon, trumpet/trombone/vocals/keys/guitar/composer; Anthony Carrillo, percussion; Elvis Ferrara, percussion/vocals; David Brenner, sound effects; Greg Meisenberg, drums/bass/guitar.

The first thing I notice about this rock/jazz production is that these musicians take on an assortment of instruments.  Greg Meisenberg plays drums, bass and guitar on the project. The leader, Mac Gollehon, plays trumpet, trombone, sings, plays the keyboards and the guitar. Also he’s composed every song. Some people refer to Mac as a sonic mercenary, because, since the late 1970s, he’s been classified as a renowned horn assassin.

Mac Gollehon is armed with a brass arsenal that cuts through Rock, pop, jazz and R&B music as well as Reggae, salsa, Soca, and Latin jazz.  He’s a product of the New York City trenches. Gollehon has travelled the world with his horns and imagination blowing across stages like an AKA rifle.  In fact, when I open his CD package, the barrel of a gun is pointed at me. Shocking!

This multi-talented musician is like a mad scientist with an attitude.  In the past, he has mixed his musical brews with a band of big-name players like Madonna, Blondie, David Bowie, Chaka Khan, Buddy Rich, Hall & Oates, Lester Bowie, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger and many more. He has over 200 gold and platinum albums bearing his brass stamp.  That, along with ten critically acclaimed solo albums, some on the Blue Note Club label, Half Note, support his accomplishments.

On this latest adventure, he dives into the experimental underground, partnering with The Hispanic Mechanics and crisscrossing genres.  He has composed all the songs except one called “Sign It,” that he co-wrote with David Maurice.  On that song, voices chant “Sign it – sign it.  Sign the contract.” A phrase often chanted to entertainers by those who want to exploit their talents.

They open with a tune that is Rock to the bone.  It is the title tune of this album and let’s you know what your ears are in store for with the group’s pounding rhythm, staccato bass and horn lines that play like a hammer on a nail head.  The crescendos build.  Greg Meisenberg’s drums pound out energy, like someone knocking down walls.  The trumpet of Mac Gollahon shouts above the fray with a melodic voice blowing from the bell of his horn. This tune gives notice of what’s to come.

Mac Gollehon’s new album is an extension of his former high-powered release of avant-garde, rock, jazz, and fusion that bends and blends genres into a rainbow of styles and energy.

These musicians are no newcomers to the music scene.  Back in 2016, they released an album that received rave reviews and was more smooth jazz like this tune, “Exito Obscucridad.” I lean more towards this groove than this current hard rock/fusion/Latin ensemble they have become.

Still, Mac Gollehon & the Hispanic Mechanics are excellent examples of how jazz can wrap itself around any genre to explore the innermost feelings of freedom.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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