Gaspille

Not to be confused with the better-known jazz group of the same name, the New York All Stars aren't what their name may lead you to presume. No, they're not a jazz group, but rather a band of New York-by-way-of-the-Caribbean musicians who stay true to their island roots, playing a unique synthesis of Latin and Caribbean styles. Gaspille features a total of nine songs, each featuring numerous musicians: Armstrong Jeune and Cassandre Joseph (vocals), Yves A. Abel and Kinelly Jn-Pierre (bass), Michel Blaise (cymbals), and Alphonso Wesby (drums), in addition to several guitarists and horn players. Jn-Pierre writes most of the music for this album, though Abel is another key songwriter, contributing both music and lyrics to multiple songs. Despite the low-budget packaging, the music on Gaspille sounds surprisingly clear and clean. This band obviously knows how to write complex and daring songs, and their flair comes across in every song, most of which are quite unique and not easy to categorize into standard stylistic classifications.