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Joe Lally
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis: Deface the Currency
by Kevin Poindexter
The distance between the underground rock scene and the genre-bending free jazz movement of the 1960s is shorter than it appears. On their second full-length collaboration, Deface the Currency, The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis have managed to erase that distance by uniting the post-punk precision of the Washington D.C hardcore scene with the high-octane energy of Detroit's revolutionary rock heritage. They then forge a powerful bond between “New Thing" avant-garde legends Pharoah Sanders and Sonny Sharrock with the high-energy intensity and ...
Continue ReadingThe Messthetics: The Messthetics And James Brandon Lewis
by Chris May
There are few examples of ranking jazz saxophonists collaborating with rock bands, and even fewer that are as successful as this one featuring tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and the instrumental trio The Messthetics. One notable precedent is the partnership of Ethiopian tenor saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya with Dutch punk band The Ex, which exploded into life in concert and on record periodically between 2006 and 2012. In the mid-1950s, Mekurya, who wore a lion's mane headdress when appearing in Addis ...
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