Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Waz: Organigalactic

The Waz: Organigalactic

By Jim Santella
September 1, 2000
View read count

With a live performance at The Mohawk Place in BeauFleu, New York, this exciting band follows last year’s debut with more fun. Some of it is dance music; some of it simply pure energy. In places, the band amuses with creative hijinks. Sharing a free spirit and improvised action with the jazz world, this drummer-led band prefers enthusiastic rock and hard-core funk as its focus. Using tapes with altered speed & vocal pitch, electronic sound distortion, shouting, spoken word; as well as the more traditional thumping electric bass, powerhouse drum set and high-voltage electric guitar, the band pumps up the audience and brings them in as a part of the recording. Sound and video clips from this album are located at http://www.thewaz.com .

Two classic jazz compositions receive personalized treatment. John Coltrane’s "Impressions" is revered, but with back beats and half-baked saxophone daydreams. Eddie Harris’ "Freedom Jazz Dance" gets along fine with a rock-steady drum set, organ and bass holding down the fort. The band adds vocal raps, alto saxophone wails, and fiery guitar licks to the mix. These are free spirits, having a good time. Today’s performers have been exposed to a wide-ranging palette of musical styles that range from jazz, blues & classical to rock, rap & world. It’s up to the individuals to decide which ones they wish to incorporate. The Waz has elected to take a little here, a little there – and build it into his own sound. It’s working.

Track Listing

Impressions; Dig?; Bubble Rump; Freedom Jazz Dance; ?; Freshouttabedlook / Sex Machine.

Personnel

The Waz

David "The Waz" Wasik- drums; Eric Crittenden- vocals, alto saxophone; Stuart Fucha- guitar.

Album information

Title: Organigalactic | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: WAZ Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Charles Lloyd: Crossing the Waters W...
< Previous

Passages
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.