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dragonfly

A discriminating and effortless blues groove is the overall feel of “Hip Factor” by Steve Allee from the album “Dragonfly” Owl Studios 2008.

This trio is comprised of Bill Moring-bass, Tom Horner-Drums, and Steve Allee-keyboards/piano. Special guests Rob Dixon and Rich Perry -sax, round out the group.

What’s interesting about this particular jam is the the mid tune unison between Dixon and Allee. This is one of those tunes that can be enjoyed in just about any setting. I happen to listen to it while driving to work.

When the tune begins,the horns sound like a muted trumpet(a la Miles), until it gets underway. The tonal quality of all instruments played have an elegance rooted in simplicity.

Tom Horner is rather soft spoken on the drums opting for what sounds like brushes on the snare. Bill Moring is equally minimal on the bass, offering counterpoint to the drums.

The crux of the tune lies in the afore mentioned sax and piano phrasing, at first alternatively, then combined.

If listened to closely, you can hear Allee change from electric piano to acoustic and back again.This is my only slight dissappointment, I think the acoustic piano sounds better, at least in this case. Get off anyway!

Track listing:

1. Bus To Belmopan
2. Dragonfly
3. Somewhere
4. Yummy
5. Morning Glory
6. X&Y
7. Dedication Suite: Conversation With Bill
8. Dedication Suite: Thaddeus
9. Dedication Suite: If I Were a Bell
10. Hip Factor

Personnel:

Steve Allee-keyboards Bill Moring-upright bass Tim Horner-drums
Rich Perry, Rob Dixon-saxophone

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real brox

Ahhh jazz!. So many styles, so little time.
“Gateway” is a track from the “Real Brox” 2 disc CD, 2002 by the quintet Beeblebrox.

Central to the tune are Monica Herzig on piano, Tom Clark on sax, and her husband Peter Kienle on subtle guitar and synth fills,recorded live, with a noticably bluesy feel.

If this had been recorded in the studio, it would most likely still evoke 50’s nightclub/black & white movie soundtrack images,because these cats are just that adept at their craft of imparting their musical message.

Monica shines and is at ease with classical arpeggios, or sparkling jazz riffs. Tom’s pleadingly plaintive tone on the sax is somewhat reminiscent of a mix of Eddie Harris, John Klemmer, and David Sanborn, done of course in a way uniquely his own.

Laid back, but by no means narcoleptic, I love this tune, and their style of playing.

Excerpt: MELVIN WALDEN-JAMES WRITES A COLUMN FOR THE INDIANAPOLIS JAZZ FOUNDATION, INC. PUBLICATION, “Indy Jazz”.

“The name comes from Zaphod BeebleBrox, the main character in author Douglas Adams’ science fiction satire ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.’ BeebleBrox’ music combines the elements of jazz, rock, funk, and world music to create a new sound, while keeping the fusion traditions of artists such as Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Chick Corea’s Return to Forever. You can hear many influences in the music of BeebleBrox, but their sound is unique!

BeebleBrox was first formed in Albstadt, Germany in 1983 by Peter Kienle. After teaming up with Monika Herzig in 1988, Kienle moved the group to the United States, to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Herzig, composer as well as a respected jazz pianist, has recently been awarded a Down Beat magazine award for her composition, “Let’s Fool One,” and received a doctorate in music education and jazz studies from Indiana University.”

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ACME Records BB08-9929-2

Personnel:

Peter Kienle - electric guitar, guitar synth
Monika Herzig - grand piano, keyboards
Tom Clark - saxes, EWI
Jack Helsley - electric bass
Paul Surowiak - drums

Real Brox-Track Listing:

1. Birdie Nam-Nam 6:30
2. Belonging 8:50
3. Homer Simpson 13:32
4. Half Man - Half Brocoli 7:15
5. Baiao Do Banana/Bloomingtoon 6:57
6. Trojan Horse 6:51
7. Gateway 7:53
8. Beeblebrox 8:11
9. It’s Better to Keep Cool Sometimes 8:50
10. Lost but Not Forgotten 7:38
11. My Funny Glove Compartment 10:57
12. Mr. Simon 6:5
13. Homer’s Evil Twin 6:51
14. The Longest Day of the Week 7:53
15. Loose Ends 8:11

profyousion’s video review fry-his-ass

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husky

This is another funky, greasy, new jazz jam…woooo!
“Fry His Ass” off the” Husky” album 2006 by skerik’s syncopated taint septet. Unfortunately, it’s an album only selection on itunes

The phrasing alternates between mellow, then fierce… back and forth continuously to a climax that sounds as if the fellas just played themselves out.

If Thelonius Monk did the horn arrangement and they were played by Roland Kirk, it might sound like this. Screamin’ horn harmonies slightly off key, yet the drummer keepin’ the funk “in the pocket”, even the clarinet gets some dap on this.

Seemingly, the prevailing view amongst todays’ musical pundits is”gone are the days of jazz rooted in gospel and blues. The “Nu Jazz” is rooted in funk and hip-hop”. Funk has an underrated influence on a great deal of popular music in general, and hip-hop with its’ syncopated beat and phrasing is a subset of funk!

Skerik (née Eric Walton) is from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, Skerik is a “pioneer” in a playing style that has been dubbed saxophonics.

Saxophonics is a recent term for techniques developed by saxophonists such as Eddie Harris and Sonny Stitt, who both played the Varitone saxophone beginning in the 1960s. In addition to playing the Varitone, Eddie Harris had experimented with looping techniques on his 1968 album Silver Cycles.

Can one really be called a pioneer forty years later? Granted, the cat is bad, but let’s not get carried away with descriptors for marketing.

“Syncopate the Taint” was the first track I heard, which led me to checking the remaining tracks. Believe me the whole album is bad, a strong B+(I never give an A).

Here’s a YouTube video of a live performance.

The rest of the septet consists of Craig Flory on baritone saxophone and clarinet, Dave Carter on trumpet, Hans Teuber on alto saxophone and flute, Steve Moore on trombone and Wurlitzer, Joe Doria on Hammond B-3 and John Wicks on drums.

Skerik named the band after the term, “Syncopated Taint,” which was used by America’s first ever drug czar Harry J. Anslinger to describe the nation’s moral decay in the 1930s and ’40s as caused by the combination of jazz and marijuana.

profyousion’s video review fry-his-ass

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