{"id":6072,"date":"2014-07-22T05:30:41","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T09:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=6072"},"modified":"2014-07-22T05:30:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T09:30:41","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-july-2014-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/22\/hundred-word-reviews-july-2014-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews July 2014, Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m bound and determined to reduce the contents of my in-box to manageable levels, so this week I’ll be covering 25 albums, each adhering to a 100-word limit. Don’t mistake brevity for a negative review; these are all worthwhile releases.<\/p>\n

Today’s five \u2013 all new music \u2013 are all within the (very loosely defined) jazz idiom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>The New Mastersounds \u2013 <\/strong>Therapy<\/strong><\/em>
\nAt every turn, this Leeds-based group finds new and exciting ways to expand upon their original brief: soul-infused boogaloo music. Pleasing jazz fans, the noodle-dancing jam band crowd and general-purpose festival crowds all at once is a tall order, but The New Mastersounds<\/strong> deftly achieve that goal. On Therapy<\/em>, the group delivers a dozen original tunes heavy on soul and groove; fans of their earlier material will recognize the signature style, but they’ll also find some surprises. The heavy yet downtempo soul stew of \u201cOld Man Noises\u201d owes as much to Jimi Hendrix<\/strong> or Brian Auger<\/strong> as to modern trip-hop.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>B11 \u2013 <\/strong>B11<\/strong><\/em>
\nThis (nominally) jazz trio plays pop-jazz and originals in a style that feels more post-rock or even metal in places. A reading of Henry Mancini<\/strong>‘s \u201cPeter Gunn Theme\u201d is rendered in slowed-down super-heavy style. B11<\/strong> covers Mancini’s \u201cPink Panther Theme\u201d even slower. And the heavily reverbed \u201cMoon River\u201d sounds like Chris Isaak<\/strong> played at 16 RPM. ( Lou Donaldson<\/strong>‘s \u201cAlligator Boogaloo\u201d gets similar treatment. But the original tunes cover a wider palette, from spaghetti-western instros to excursions into bolero, waltz and such. The no-lyrics, downtempo vibe makes B11<\/em> suitable as groovy background music, but it’s a fun intentional listen too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>Machine Mass \u2013 <\/strong>Inti<\/strong><\/em>
\nIt’s fascinating to observe players constantly on the lookout for new direction in which to push the jazz idiom. Machine Mass features electric (and often heavily processed) guitar from Michael Deville<\/em>, plus drums (and loops) from Tony Bianco<\/strong>. Together they make a sort of avant-garde kind of sound. But acclaimed saxophonist Dave Liebman<\/strong> adds his innovation to the mix, making Inti<\/em> more of a jazz\/post-rock hybrid. In the liner notes, Bianco describes the trio’s approach as \u201cimprovising over structures.\u201d In practice this means that there’s a cohesive foundation for all nine tracks, but what happens within each piece is unpredictable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>Bex Ferris Goubert \u2013 <\/strong>Now or Never<\/strong><\/em>
\nThis trio is so French that the liner notes aren’t even in English. But music is indeed the universal language, so these musicians on Hammond B3 organ, trombone and batterie<\/em> (that drums to you and me) get their point across in a way that most everyone can understand and appreciate. Deconstructions of \u201cTake Five\u201d and Thelonious Monk<\/strong>‘s \u201cBluehawk\u201d stay true to the jazz aesthetic of not saying true to the original arrangement, and the live recording (captured by a mobile unit in an intimate crowd in Paris’ Sunset Club) captures the group’s winning yet uncompromisingly idiosyncratic approach to good effect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart \u2013 <\/strong>Ramshackle Serenade<\/strong><\/em>
\nWith a more conventional lineup (Hammond, guitar and drums, respectively), this trio plays snaky, subtle tunes \u2013 six originals plus three covers \u2013 all of which are understated yet expressive. At times, the trio seems ready to take off into a heavier, faster tempo, but they keep it mostly in a head-nodding, pensive manner throughout the disc. In particular, Bill Stewart’s loping drums hold the emergency brake on the other two, reining in any tendency they might have to cut loose. Those looking for excitement are advised to keep moving; nothing to hear here. Still worth a listen.<\/p>\n

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I’m bound and determined to reduce the contents of my in-box to manageable levels, so this week I’ll be covering 25 albums, each adhering to a 100-word limit. Don’t mistake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,49,65],"tags":[252,304,625,1371,1574],"class_list":["post-6072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jazz","category-new-release","category-review","tag-b11","tag-bfg","tag-dave-liebman","tag-machine-mass","tag-new-mastersounds","cat-42-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}