Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Evil Eye: Doin' It All For My Baby

Evil Eye: Doin' It All For My Baby

By Glenn Astarita
November 16, 2007
View read count

This is a limited edition, 250 copy only release offered by the Oregon-based progressive-jazz label KMB Jazz. This quartet generates some high heat via a multi-tiered framework of motifs that partly reside within the freer spectrum of jazz. With a bustling 4/4 marching band progression on the opener, "They Certainly Are Not Great Writers, tenor saxophonist Jonathan Moritz and trumpeter Nate Wooley generate some calamity via howling choruses capped-off by a ferocious meltdown. However, these folks mix it up quite often as they inject zigzagging funk and rock pulses into the grand mix to complement a string of fragmented pulses and moody, slow tempo swing vibes.

In various movements the front line executes gruff and wily dialogues. Nicely articulated dynamics signify a major part of the band's makeover, as they navigate through variable rhythmic metrics used as foundations for a multitude of hues and mini-motifs. But they venture towards an introspective state of affairs on "When We've All Rehearsed Our Separate Parts The Real Thing Will Happen, which is an arrangement that elicits imagery of descending into a sunken valley. They take it way down, due to Moritz and Wooley's dark and extended phrasings. Semi-structured and improvised, this album duly projects the quartet's balanced game-plan. Neither the avant-garde or prog-jazz factions dominate. Nice work gents...

Track Listing

Amorrikkka; They Certainly Are Not Great Writers; 3am Swedetown Bluff; Doin' It All For My Baby; Moore For Mom; Mend More IIIs; When We

Personnel

Evil Eye

Jonathan Moritz: tenor sax; Nate Wooley: trumpet; Ken Filiano: bass; Mike Pride: drums and vibraphone.

Album information

Title: Doin' It All For My Baby | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: KMB Jazz

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Evolution/Revolution
< Previous

Amor de Cosmos
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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.