Jazz Articles

Wooden Shjips: Back To Land

by Glenn Astarita
November 19, 2013

This West Coast nouveau psychedelic space-rock based unit has refined its oeuvre a bit. The moveable wall of sound remains intact, however a tad more concentration in melodic content advances the group to another level that would conceivably increase its scope of awareness within the college and satellite radio circuits. Nonetheless, the band has amassed a strong following, and rightfully so. Guitarist Ripley Johnson's scorching, in-your-face crunch chords, trippy soloing, and the rhythm section's pulsating straight-four grooves are ...

Arbouretum: Coming Out Of The Fog

by Glenn Astarita
January 15, 2013

Hailing from Baltimore, MD, Arbouretum purportedly enjoys a hefty fan base overseas, but for those unfamiliar with the band, Coming Out of the Fog is most assuredly a good place to start. Framed by a sense of ominous regality amid lead guitarist Dave Heumann's nervy, prophetic, and authoritative vocal delivery, the plan of attack is partially mounted on glimpses of vintage hard rock and psychedelic propensities. The band also intersperses ethereal overtones into the mix, yielding a sonic craze that ...

kandodo: kandodo

by Glenn Astarita
July 8, 2012

Multi-instrumentalist Simon Price offers shades of vintage Brian Eno ambient-electronica, with psychedelic hooks and minimalist terrestrial planes, via his one-man solo effort, bearing the group moniker kandodo. He also intersperses an off-center new age vibe into the grand mix via oscillating guitar parts, thought-provoking textural components and tasteful themes sprinkled throughout. “Lord Hyena, 3am" closes out the album and boasts a '70s-inspired, spaced-out groove. With gradually climactic crescendos and psycho guitar overlays, Price summons a Berkeley flower-power ...

White Hills: Frying on this Rock

by Glenn Astarita
April 25, 2012

Among other things, the New York City-based space rockers White Hills will give any stereo system a workout by pushing the limits of acceptable sonic distortion, sort of like a proving grounds for aural integrity. Unabashedly loud, and progressing with a massive wall-of-sound approach, this album tenders a psycho-rock brew tinged with thrashing guitar licks amid a few nods to Sonic Youth, or Pink Floyd on steroids.The magnum opus is the fifteen-minute closer, “I Write a Thousand Letters ...

Wooden Shjips: West

by Glenn Astarita
September 29, 2011

Derived from America's western mythology and romanticism, the San Francisco-based Wooden Shjips incorporates vintage psychedelics, propelled by punchy back-beats amid Sonic Youth-style crunch chords and doses of German space-rock. However, the musicians do seed familiar turf into an identifiable group-focused line of operations. Perhaps a throwback to the '70s, due to Farfisa organ sounds and dreamy electronics and guitars treatments, the band mixes it up with a great deal of improvisation, shaded with ethereal ambience and a haze of semi-controlled ...

Alexander Tucker: Dorwytch

by Glenn Astarita
May 2, 2011

Adventurous British multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Alexander Tucker celebrates his freshman release for Chicago-based Thrill Jockey Records. Tucker is a sound-sculptor, known for his collaborations with like-minded musicians who skirt the edge of rock, minimalism, electronica and other mediums, where fundamentals transcend into embryonic vehicles. Here, Tucker brandishes a chamber-tinted, anti-pop program, resplendent with memorable material and faint nods to Brian Eno, largely from a vocal perspective amid background electronics treatments. Indeed, this is a multifaceted album, comprising fourteen ...

Chicago Underground Duo: Boca Negra

by Chris May
January 19, 2010

Drummer Chad Taylor's and cornetist Rob Mazurek's intention with Boca Negra is to present the listener with “an emotional experience that transcends the idea of genre or label." The principle of inclusiveness starts with the recording location, Sao Paulo in Brazil, and continues through to the album's packaging: the cover shot was taken on the shore of the Dead Sea, while the title, which means “black mouth," comes from Tenerife in the Canary Isles (where it was coined to describe ...

Tortoise: Beacons Of Ancestorship

by Glenn Astarita
July 14, 2009

Part of the Chicago-based Tortoise's appeal and loyal following is fabricated upon its many-sided musicality, where bits and pieces of retro psychedelia, Euro space-rock, pop overtones and Pink Floyd type walls-of-sound come to fruition. Through it all, and somehow or another, the band propagates a singular identity via probing fuzz-toned guitars, deep bass grooves, streaming synth effects and cohesive thematic overtures.

With only its sixth full-length album, given the unit's twenty-year existence the tantalizing fabrics of sound, featuring ...

Tortoise: Beacons Of Ancestorship

by Troy Collins
June 17, 2009

Beacons Of Ancestorship is the first release in five years from revolutionary post rock innovators Tortoise and the sixth full-length record of their almost two decade existence. A longstanding Chicago institution, Tortoise single-handedly spawned the post rock genre in the early nineties--a post punk fusion of Krautrock, minimalism, dub, electronica, world music, and avant-garde jazz.

In addition to their vast array of influences, virtuosic multi-instrumentalists Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker have long ...

Bill Dixon With Exploding Star Orchestra: Bill Dixon With Exploding Star Orchestra

by Greg Camphire
February 1, 2008

Prolific bandleader Rob Mazurek follows his 2007 Exploding Star Orchestra debut, We Are All From Somewhere Else, with this landmark vehicle for the legendary yet elusive Bill Dixon. Bill Dixon With Exploding Star Orchestra is a sprawling meeting of minds, as Dixon fronts a thirteen-piece ensemble on a set designed especially for him. At the height of his expressive powers, Dixon's signature trumpet tones are scrawled all over the album's lengthy suites with masterful artistry.

“Entrances/One" and “Entrances/Two," both written ...