|
|||
BOXHOLDER
JIM & JACK SHOW/Present Hearing is Believing: There’s a lot of deconstruction in the air when Eugene Chadbourne and Jimmy Carl Black do their annual get together, but how can you pass by “Girl from Al Queda” where they vamp on the Jobim classic and take it to hell just to give you some laughs? More for Dr. Demento fans than jazz fans, they fearlessly stick it to everything from the Beatles to Mingus to Marvin Gaye in ways that would just piss you off if they didn’t have the chops to back it up, even if this isn’t your cup of tea. Be warned but take the chance.
53
JAZZ PROMO SERVICES
JON LARSEN/Strange News From Mars: C’mon, how can you not like it if Larsen took the trouble to bring in Jimmy Carl Black to say he’s the first Indian on Mars and then kick into a 60’s Zappa like groove? Other Zappa alumni are on board as well. Quite a nutty maneuver for a cat known for keeping Django’s vibe alive. Not a tribute album, not an homage and not a fan boy realizing a childhood fantasy now that he has the time and money to indulge it, Larsen has the chops to back up the play. Bringing more fusion than rock chops to the mix, guitarist Larsen realizes the vision that would have resulted if Zappa cross pollinated with John McLaughlin. (Go back and listen to some old Mahavishnu to sense the vibe and see for yourself). Wacked out and right on at the same time.
2001 (Zonic)
POLYSTAR
YOKO MIWA TRIO/Canopy of Stars: C’mon, how many of you are prejudiced toward anyone named Yoko just on general principle? Forget about it, this ones a keeper. Miwa came up through classics but was smitten with jazz and has the jazz piano trio vibe down like it’s on her DNA (another one of those Asian chicks that can’t help but be an over achiever, huh?). She doesn’t play rote, she plays with a passion and commitment that over shadows she’s also keeping an ear open toward commercial considerations. If she recorded this with the other two cats from the original Ramsey Lewis Trio, you’d almost think this was a great lost RLT session from the vaults. Simply a wonderful player that has us pissed off that she’s the house band at a club in Boston and we have to be content with occasional records to hear her. Check it out.
3020
TWO FOR THE SHOW MEDIA
NATHAN EKLUND GROUP/Crooked Line: Everyone on board here has proven their mettle behind various leaders already, so even if they aren’t household names, they are cats that come to play. Behind horn man Eklund and powering his mostly original program, this unit makes delightful sounds that are to the right of the progressive edge–not too out there and not too mainstream but loaded with a subtle groove that’s infectious. Simply tasty stuff that goes the distance.
105 (Jazz Excursion)
CINDY BLACKMAN/Music for the New Millennium: Maybe not retro, but this sounds an awful lot like it has the vibe of a lot of fusion we’ve been digging out of the crates lately. A double discer that finds Blackman drumming up a storm, she might look like a wacky hippie chick on the cover but she’s playing with direction and vision. It’s her session and she’s mixed right in the front, but if you want a set that really gives the drummer some, this is the place to stop over.
99963 (Sacred Sound)
Volume 31/Number 20
November 20, 2007
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2007 Midwest Record
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI