Birth: Find (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

Recent articles (1,629 total)

Published: November 15, 2002

Birth's website indicates that they are an avant-garde jazz unit, along with an inference concerning drum ‘n’ bass grooves. We won’t debate that notion. As this hard driving trio conveys a brash, and notably hip demeanor via its in-your-face mode of operations. The musicians dish out a multifaceted conglomeration of catchy melodies infused with deviously executed modern jazz grooves and snappy beats. Saxophonist Josh Smith serves as the high-octane front man via a wily and altogether emphatically articulated approach. While Jeremy Bleich and drummer Joe Tomino occasionally pummel motifs into submission amid the group’s occasional permutations of complex unison lines.

New York City based trumpeter Cuong Vu joins the festivities on three pieces, as the band hammers thru funk motifs, progressive rock type complexities, and free jazz scenarios. The trio and Vu tone the proceedings down a bit on the dreamy ballad, “Untitled r_d.” Nonetheless, the music is founded upon rapid shifts in momentum and craftily rendered time signatures. Overall, their nouveau style should provide a welcome shot of adrenaline for those who need that added boost. Recommended...

Birth

Track Listing: 1.Seek 2.Smile 3.The Round One 4.Bismillah 5.Untitled r_d 6.Smitten 7.Pakora Menorah 8.Because The Sky Is Blue

Personnel: Joshua Smith: saxophones

Record Label: Hopscotch
Style: Modern Jazz