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Jazz Articles about Mostly Other People Do the Killing

1

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Disasters Vol. 1

Read "Disasters Vol. 1" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Rest assured, Mostly Other People Do the Killing get the joke and on Disasters Vol.1, the amorphous collective's eleventh disc and this trio's riotous second, you either get the joke too or you don't. It really makes no never-mind to this eclectic bunch because MOPDtK know instinctively that, if you don't throw yourself off balance from time to time, (like every single time the opportunity presents itself) you're going to get deeply sucked into the muck and mire of human ...

12

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Disasters Vol. 1

Read "Disasters Vol. 1" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


Mostly Other People Do the Killing has a way of making great music sound accidental. So Disasters Vol. 1 is as suitable a name for this collection as it would be for any of their fourteen albums. In past versions, they have boasted big names such as Jon Irabagon, Peter Evans, and rising talents like guitarist Brandon Seabrook. Drummer Kevin Shea and bassist/composer Moppa Elliot, are two-thirds of the current group and the remaining original members of MOPDtK. Ron Stabinsky ...

5

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Disasters Vol. 1

Read "Disasters Vol. 1" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Moppa Elliott's gonzo-surrealist jazz group, Mostly Other People Do The Killing, returns for a second album in its piano trio format with Elliott on bass, Ron Stabinsky on piano and Kevin Shea on drums. They are up to their usual tricks here, playing slapstick jazz which flits deliriously through all types of styles and sub-genres like an old Warner Brothers cartoon soundtrack. However there is a more serious added element on this album. Elliott, as he often does, named all ...

4

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Paint

Read "Paint" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Mostly Other People Do The Killing have released their second CD of 2017 and, in keeping with the group's unpredictability, it's a bit of a curve ball. Whereas on previous releases they've ranged in size from a quartet to a septet, this time they've cut themselves down to a simple piano trio. Other than that, it's business as usual. Bassist Moppa Elliott's original compositions are still named for towns in Pennsylvania (which this time all include colors in their names), ...

22

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Paint

Read "Paint" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


No sooner had Mostly Other People Do the Killing expanded to a septet with Loafer's Hollow (Hot Cup Records, 2017) than they shrink to their smallest formation to date with the trio release Paint. Founding member, bassist, and composer Moppa Elliott is joined by pianist Ron Stabinsky and drummer Kevin Shea. Trumpeter Peter Evans had departed the group before its 2015 Mauch Chunk album and now without Jon Irabagon's alto saxophone in the lineup, the sound takes a very different ...

8

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Loafer's Hollow

Read "Loafer's Hollow" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


The expanded, septet version of Mostly Other People Do The Killing takes on more pre-bebop era jazz. The previous septet outing Red Hot (Hot Cup, 2013) had focused on jazz and blues recordings of the 1920s -30s; this one adds the music of the swing era to the mix. One of the defining changes in the swing era was the banjo giving way to guitar in the rhythm section--with banjoist Brandon Seabrook in the band, the earlier sound is maintained, ...

24

Album Review

Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Loafer's Hollow

Read "Loafer's Hollow" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


Blowing up Mostly Other People Do the Killing from its core quartet to a septet may seem like an invitation to dance on the musical third rail. The group that has always straddled the broad and fuzzy line between tradition and chaotic improvisation, has nevertheless managed that process with a mixture of sophistication, revelation and unbridled enthusiasm. Loafer's Hollow is a surprising entry to their catalog of one-dozen releases.MOPDtK founding member (and primary composer), bassist Moppa Elliott, saxophonist ...


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