Melvin Gibbs makes ancient modern music out of the African-American heritage. In Ancients Speak, America encompasses anywhere in the New World where the descendants of slaves continue to make music. Afro-Cuban and Bahian influences mingle easily with rap and electronic beats. Field recordings from Brazil are at the heart of many tracks, wrapped with silken strands of '70s-style R&B and the blazing flames of Hendrix-like rock guitar. In many ways, Gibbs' disc is the sound of the city he has long called home, New York, with its sometimes jarring, often flowing juxtapositions of music from all over.
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