Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Second Movement: Second Movement

206

Second Movement: Second Movement

By

Sign in to view read count
Second Movement: Second Movement
Second Movement, the eponymous release by this supremely funky band, is a love-in for the jazzer who likes to move to the groove, even if only at times. Put this disc on your player and you will simply have to move your body. However, these musicians have the genre down to a science and obviously take great pride in being as tight as tight can be.

If you spend much of your listening time in the more subtle and complex rivulets of jazz, Second Movement might very well be refreshing. It might also begin to engage your mind, since these fellows know how to create track architecture which ebbs and flows, leading to a climax. While the music is not harmonically sophisticated, the sum total of the sound, and the way each track evolves through the solos, is more than enough to maintain interest.

Being in a band that thrives on rhythm and groove, drummer Matthew Tredwell and bassist Justin Kimmel lock together to create the main groove that forms the backbone of each track's identity. Keyboardist Thomas Shaw adds the next layer, using various amounts of differing electronics to create a solid wall, when he is not soloing, in front of which Mark Hanna's guitar and David Caputo's alto can play.

What Hanna does is very interesting since many times his sound merges with that of Shaw's. (Or is it vice versa?) When he's not soloing, he comps, plays repetitive figures and generates fills which merge into the overall sound. Hanna and Shaw can easily be thought of as an extremely tight single entity whose efforts build the background.

The more I listened to this record, the more impressive it became as my ears teased apart the layers; the total sound picked me up and practically threw me around the room. In the end, while the record displays Second Movement's extreme skill at what they do, this music is the kind that just must be heard live. Damn!

Track Listing

Featherweight; Batween tha Sheetz; Moonlight Weightbelt; The Hup; Spellbound; Anything But Reason; Ev'ry Man a King; Mid-February Stress Test.

Personnel

Second Movement
band / ensemble / orchestra

David Caputo: alto saxophone; Mark Hanna: guitar; Justin Kimmel: bass; Thomas Shaw: keyboards; Matthew Tredwell: drums.

Album information

Title: Second Movement | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Warmer Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.