|
|
Who's Gonna Shine in 1999:
A Western Perspective, Part 2
Another in a sporadic series of introductions to bands from the Rockies and Westward that deserve your attention. This is not meant to be all inclusive; just an introduction to several bands you may not have heard for yourself yet.
ZONY MASH - Another Seattle groove jazz combo, Zony Mash is led by Hammond organist Wayne Horvitz. Horvitz made a great name for himself in New York, especially around the innovative and experimental scene thriving at The Kitchen, before packing up his unit for the Great Northwest. Horvitz combines the groove of the Meters with the jazz of The Kitchen to make for an extremely enjoyable ride every time. The CDs of Zony Mash are definitely recommended, too.
DAROL ANGER - MIKE MARSHALL BAND - Fiddler Darol Anger and mandolinist Mike Marshall first came to national attention over 20 years ago as part of David Grisman's ground-breaking quintets. The two have never been content in any one particular setting, however, preferring to vary lineups and musical styles. The Turtle Island String Quartet could have lived on foundation money forever, for example, yet that is not what keeps the music fresh for these versatile and extremely talented players. In their latest incarnation Anger and Marshall have followed the lead of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones -- and the free jam portions of what String Cheese Incident does -- in creating a jazz-grass fusion that melds virtuosity with soul and swing in an all-instrumental package. Joined by an electric rhythm section every bit as talented as themselves, Anger and Marshall move through things as diverse as swinging versions of a Bach composition, a deconstructed version of Jimmy Hendrix's "Purple Haze," a handful of fine originals, and two extended group improvisations, one which ventures way outside, employing piano and other non-traditional sounds. Their debut CD in this lineup, "Jam" (1999: Compass Records) is superb.
CALOBO - This Oregon-based acousto-electric jamband is also on an East Coast tour right now, supporting their most recent release, "Live At The Crystal Ballroom." Calobo is a large unit, which combines guitars, mandolins, keyboards, percussion and bass with wonderful multi-part harmonies, very tight arrangements (that often do open into jams) and well-written songs. Calobo is one of those jambands I fully expect to cross-over onto the nation's rock radio stations while still retaining all their jamband credibility. A very popular act in the West, Colobo has sold almost 55,000 of their independently produced and distributed CDs, an unheard of number for most jambands and one that suggests that major labels will soon be barking up Calobo's tree any day now if they are not already. Calobo has the added bonus of the energy of several talented women participating in the group, something the testosterone-heavy jamband scene could use more of. Fans of Strangefolk, Acoustic Junction, and other song oriented improvisational acts will be especially happy to have found Colobo.
KARL DENSON AND TINY UNIVERSE - The saxophone master from the Greyboy Allstars, Denson has been spending increasing amounts of time with his "Sidecar Project," Tiny Universe. Featuring Carlos Washington on trumpet, Tiny Universe plays funk and boogaloo that centers around the two horns being tightly locked in harmonic punches, as well as extended solos from each, and an electric piano that gives the band a funky retro feel recalling the early seventies. The guitarist in the band is also phenomenal; he keeps the hollow-bodied electric strapped tight, high on his body so the neck never moves, allowing him to explore complicated, but always clean sounding, jazz chords and progressions. The rhythm section is so solid that every time I've seen this band in a club, the patrons begin clearing away the furniture at the first beats, to make more room to dance. Denson is also at home on the flute adding even more sonic possibility to the group, which splits its time between instrumentals and vocal numbers. Denson and Washington have also been spotted sitting in with Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident in recent months, something everyone that heard it says was fantastic.
JACKSTRAW - This Oregon-based bluegrass band is relatively new, but if their debut CD, "Home Far Away" is any indication, they have a very bright future ahead of themselves indeed. Jackstraw takes the acoustic music of bluegrass very seriously, but not so seriously that they don't bend the rules now and again. They are not afraid to add rock-like chords at times, but only sparodically, which heightens their effectiveness when they do appear. Jackstraw also features a rough-hewn, rock-inflected lead voice on many of its songs, making it stand out from the bluegrass bands who generally go for sweetness and twang in their harmonies -- even when this is not natural to their own voices. The songwriting is relatively strong, the instrumentation good, and the groove is very danceable. I look forward to seeing this band when it works its way down the West Coast in late May.
ADAM & KRIS / SWEET JUICE - Playing as duo, or with their band Sweet Juice, this Oregon-based unit is long on passion in their lyrics and in their performances. Sharing equally in the songwriting and singing, Adam & Kris' music is often left-of-center without being dogmatic or sectarian. A blend of acoustic guitars, harmonicas, and djembe when it is just the duo, or with a rhythm section added in as Sweet Juice, Adam & Kris is a conscious blend of folk and rock that is very enjoyable.
TOADSTOOL - Seattle's Toadstool recently released a four song CD that suggests they are a jamband to watch grow in the future. They are hard to pin down musically, but they have taken elements of Grateful Dead, Phish, classic rock, prog rock, and even some African rhythms into their mix and come up with something quite enjoyable. This is true not leastly because the band can sing as well as they play their instruments, which is to say quite good. Seattle area residents may have seen this band opening for Jazz Is Dead not long ago. Those that did report looking forward to seeing this band again.
VINYL - This Bay Area funk band combines the Latin percussion and guitar leads inspired by Carlos Santana, with a horn section clearly inspired by the Tower Of Power, to make for a booty shaking time every time you hear them. Check them out on CD on their debut "Live At Sweetwater," or on the recent three band collection from Lauan Records called "Three Sets." Another of the hardest working bands in the Bay Area, one could see Vinyl several times a week and watch them just get better and better and better.
BLEW WILLIE - Another band that has been working very hard around the Bay Area for several years now, all that hard work is really beginning to pay off. When I first saw them several years ago, their heart and energy made up for an obvious lack of experience. When I saw them again last week, it was clear that by playing all the time this band was starting to develop some serious chops while all the heart and energy remained, if not grown. They're still a young band, and there is still some growing to do, but Blew Willie is high on the learning curve. As they are clearly committed to their art professionally, things can only be looking up for this group, which combines, two acoustic guitars, percussion, bass and drums with good harmonies and Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead style originals presented with fine vocal harmonies. Watch them grow; it's fun.
Of course as soon as this is published, I'm gonna say "I should have included so-and-so, too." While as soon as you read this you'll probably think, "why didn't he include whatchamacallit." Well we'll do this again soon, so we can add more of the wonderful jambands floating around the American West to these lists.
_______flowerpunkprods______ Da Flower Punk is a historian, music journalist and freek living in Berkeley, Ca. If you're interested in more of what he has to say check out http://pauserecord.com .
May Issue: Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove
Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts
JamBands.Com is published on the 15th of every month. Submissions are due ten days earlier on the fifth of each month. Please contact the specific editor for the section you are interested in contributing to. For general content comments, please e-mail jambands@jambands.com. For all technical web site related issues, please contact Sarah Bruner or David Steinberg