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Home Speaks to the Wandering - Dead Cat Bounce

Matthew Steckler

Label: Innova Recordings
Released: 2004
Views: 1,506

Tracks

1 Hiram Hinckler's Shrunken Heads 6:40 2 SOS Ankara 5:54 3 Hepcat Revival 5:21 4 Myopia Hunt Club 4:28 5 Hear My Flow 7:56 6 Cats: Is It Fish Or Finite? 7:15 7 Dis You, Dear 5:32 8 Angelic & Podlike 6:45 9 I Once Was Vaccinated With A Photograph Needle 4:11 10 Department Of Homeland Strategery 7:13

Personnel

Matthew Steckler

saxophone

Jared Sims

saxophone

Charlie Kohlhase

saxophone, baritone

Drew Sayers

saxophone

Bill Carbone

drums

Arie Werbrouck

bass

Album Description

“These guys have a few albums behind them, but this is the first time I've caught up with them. A "dead cat bounce", I'm told, is sardonic stock market lingo for the principle that if a stock drops from a high enough height it'll _eventually_ have a slight rebound. The bandname also suggests a parodic retro sensibility, like a nightmare version of the Stray Cats, & actually for all the modern-jazz sensibility of this disc it's also got much of the flavour of rockabilly or jump bands. It's something of a hydraheaded beast: four saxophonists, led by Matt Steckler (the others are Charlie Kohlhase, Jared Sims & Drew Sayers), who switch as needed between a wide variety of horns (Steckler himself plays 5 different instruments, including pennywhistle); this big, bruising hornsection is perched on top of a sinewy, hungry-as-a-shark rhythm section (bassist Arie Werbrouck and drummer Bill Carbone). The two most obvious influences on the music are Sun Ra's most bruising charts for the baritone- & tenor-heavy 1950s Arkestra, & Mingus—there are indeed a few direct borrowings from _The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady_ & "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting". Maybe a little Roland Kirk in there too. The pace is relentless, but Steckler's an inventive enough arranger & the players are pungent enough soloists that the album doesn't come off as one-dimensional. I would imagine that fans of the Vandermark 5 would get a lot out of this one—actually, this is streets ahead of the disappointing _Airports for Light_. This is one of my most pleasant discoveries of the year so far—highly recommended for those who like a little caffeine in their jazz.” - Nate Dorward, Amazon Reviews: Home Speaks to the Wandering 2004