ZO! & Tall Black Guy Expansions Tour

Double the length of Abstractions, Zo! & Tall Black Guy’s first duo album, Expansions is aptly titled. While the co-headliners play their familiar roles — the former on bass and keyboards, the latter on programming and occasional keys, both on production — they also widen their circle once more, augmenting their crew of close associates with a mix of established and emergent singers, rappers, poets, and players, almost all of whom are in on the songwriting. Veteran Debórah Bond, the duo’s impeccable featured touring vocalist, is smack in the middle here, softly whispering on “Slow Stories.” A desirous quiet storm gem, it practically drips until Jairus Mozee’s burning guitar enters the picture. Bond is also on the swaying “Make or Break,” a duet with Gareth Donkin, a British newcomer whose sugared vocal lands somewhere between El DeBarge and Jay Kay, if with its own character. Nicholas Ryan Gant glides along the fleet dancer “Find My Way Back,” one of several cuts graced by strings arranged and conducted by Pirahnahead, while Darien Brockington subtly showcases his range on the knocking and bumping “High on Your Love,” featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff’s scratch work and Ozay Moore’s sharp guest verse. The women are more prevalent. Sy Smith fronts the candy-coated sophisti-funk of “Keep Him Satisfied” and the duly soaring “Skies.” “I’m Good,” supplying the juiciest low end frequencies (with a light touch of vintage Patrice Rushen in the mix), showcases a deceptively tough lead and sighing backgrounds from Raquel Rodriguez. The likes of BeMyFiasco, Micki Miller, Brittney Carter, and Lyric Jones are just as worthy of being singled out for further deepening a set that flows from one groove to another, providing enough feel-good modern R&B to require two flips but no skips. For as sophisticated as Expansions gets, it’s never so smooth that it lacks grit. To paraphrase Moodymann, there’s a little Detroit dust and dirt no matter where the needle is dropped. -Andy Kellman, AllMusic.com (4.5 of 5 star review)