The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra: All Out of Peaches (2011)

GLENN ASTARITA,

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

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

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Published: October 21, 2011

The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra: All Out of Peaches

Track review of "Memo 9"

This Minneapolis-based quintet may whet the appetite of Dixie Dregs or Mahavishnu Orchestra enthusiasts, but the ensemble's progressive-rock stance snugly fits into the newer trends of this genre, where dissonance, melody, jazz-like improvisation and odd-metered time signatures all reside on a synchronous musical topography.

"Memo" accentuates the group's divergent compositional style, partially based on odd-metered rhythmic structures and fiddle performer Lisi Wright's streaming staccato phrasings. Drummer Mark O'Day adds a quirky yet inventive tom pattern, serving as an accent to the pulse, as the band builds tension by gradually raising the pitch amid a touch of classic Canterbury-style, progressive-rock innuendos and contrasting perspectives. Abetted by John Wright's titanium-laced bass parts, the ensemble unites eloquence, power, and reconstructs the primary theme via brusque shifts in tactics.

Toss in a touch of vintage David Cross-era King Crimson and it translates into a fluidly moving wall-of-sound with breakneck detours and power-packed soloing galas. The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra offers an enlivening outlook throughout its swiftly moving parts.

Personnel: John Wright: bass guitars; Lisi Wright: fiddle; Mark O' Day: drums and percussion; Dan Neale: electric and acoustic guitars.

Record Label: New Folk Records