Jazz Articles

David Fiuczynski: KiF Express

by Phil DiPietro
November 21, 2008

David “Fuze" Fiuczynski continues to obliterate the boundaries of modern-day electric guitar styles, pushing himself further forward into the “world" sounds, techniques, scales, and rhythms that now constitute his calling-card. Funk can be 4/4 or 11/8, tone distorted or bone dry, chords root-fifth crunchers or undeniably undecipherable . He can make a fretted guitar sound fretless, but he's also the world's foremost fretless guitarist, rendering him one of the world's premier slide guitarists--but he plays “slide" with his fingertips. All ...

Screaming Headless Torsos: 2005

by AAJ Staff
December 6, 2004

The title of the new Screaming Headless Torsos record marks more than the calendar year to come. It's a conscious sign that nearly a decade has passed since the funk/hardcore group burst out with its self-titled debut, recently reissued as 1995 by Fuzelicious Morsels. During that period there's been a live release and a double-DVD set, as well as a non-screaming version of the Torsos minus vocalist Dean Bowman. But no matter how many years may accrue, these bad boys ...

David Fiuczynski & Rufus Cappadocia: Kif

by AAJ Staff
April 2, 2003

The country of Morocco is respected throughout Europe for, among other things, an estimated 30% of the continent's marijuana imports. The superior raw material called Kif is found there in the mountains of Rif. In Arabic, it's spelled كيف. Okay, got that? Enough said.

But don't go into Kif, the record, thinking it's some sort of stoner jam-band excursion. Quite the opposite: guitarist David Fiuczynski and cellist Rufus Cappadocia apply a razor edge to these pieces, asserting a ...

David Fiuczynski: Black Cherry Acid Lab

by AAJ Staff
January 2, 2003

Radio's the enemy!

When Black Cherry Acid Lab first came out as a rough CD-R a few years ago, it caused a bit of a stir among insiders. Guitarist David “Fuze" Fiuczynski had established his idiosyncratic (to say the least) style with the Screaming Headless Torsos, but here he was stretching his music to new extremes. Now that the record has been officially (re)issued on his Fuzelicious Morsels record label, it should shock and surprise a broader audience.

David Fiuczynski: Black Cherry Acid Lab

by Phil DiPietro
December 26, 2002

Calling all Screaming Headless Torsos fans! Report here for an interim dose of the in-your-face, funkingly dissonant energy that they're all about. But remember-this isn't your father's Torsos! It's their leader, Dave Fiuczynski, capitalizing on the freedom that comes with helming a do-it-yourself label, Fuzelicious Morsels, by unleashing the furiously freakish fruits of his Black Cherry Acid Laboratory experiments of 1996-1998 on the world of consumers who'll appreciate this document of an interestingly twisted side road journeyed by his merry ...

Screaming Headless Torsos: Live!

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 2002

In September of 1996, the Screaming Headless Torsos went live for the mikes at the Knitting Factory in New York. For any critics who claimed their prior studio effort was staged or polished, Live! set the record straight: the Torsos wield just as much raw energy and electicism on stage as they do in the studio. The original document of this adventure first appeared on the Japanese Videoarts label; but now guitarist David “Fuze" Fiuczynski has claimed it for his ...

Screaming Headless Torsos: 1995

by AAJ Staff
February 1, 2002

This is the record that started it all. In 1995, the Screaming Headless Torsos burst out with their eponymous debut on Discovery. Guitarist David “Fuze" Fiuczynski, who had been active as a sideman for other players, finally stepped into the limelight. His virtuosity and versatility perfectly suited the open-ended project, a quintet lineup with Dean Bowman on vocals. Alongside reworked versions of Bill Evans and Miles Davis tunes, the Torsos laid down ten originals spanning the range from dirty funk ...

David Fiuczynski's Headless Torsos: Amandala

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 2001

The primary challenge facing guitarist David “Fuze" Fiuczynski appears to be keeping his great powers in check. Fuze has a frightening mastery of his instrument, which manifests itself in exquisite control of tone and inhuman virtuosity. His newly-revised FHT represents an outgrowth of the Screaming Headless Torsos, which scream no more after the departure of vocalist Dean Bowman. But the basic thrust of the group remains the same: funk tinged with jazz; jazz tinged with funk. Color everywhere; expectations eagerly ...

David Fiuczynski: Jazz Punk

by Scott Andrews
September 1, 2000

David “Fuze" Fiuczynski, prolific guitarist and songwriter, first gained fame as the leader and primary writer for Screaming Headless Torsos. SHT wielded a funk/jazz/hard rock fusion with full knowledge and rendition of the varied styles they appropriated. Many bands dabble in cross-style combinations without really understanding the other genres they explore, but Fuze and SHT truly breathed all of the various influences stirred into their music.

Fiuczynski's new solo record Jazz Punk also fully lives this multi-style comprehension. Fuze covers ...

David Fiuczynski: Jazz Punk

by David Adler
February 1, 2000

David “Fuze" Fiuczynski, an accomplished sideman and bandleader, is not a jazz musician in any ordinary sense. He’s a distortion-heavy shredder, a string bender, a master of fractured, dissonant guitar pyrotechnics. Yet he’s got the sensibilities, and the résumé, of a jazzman. JazzPunk, his first solo release, almost entirely consists of non-original material drawn from a short list of his idols and/or past and present employers. It’s a hyper-eclectic menu: Metheny, Hendrix, Chopin, Ronald Shannon Jackson, George Russell, Chick Corea, ...