Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Cosmosamatics: Reeds & Birds

198

The Cosmosamatics: Reeds & Birds

By

View read count
The Cosmosamatics: Reeds & Birds
Reeds & Birds is an excellent tribute to the adventurous spirit of Charlie Parker. The album soars with a technical facility that is, like Bird's, furious and musical, yet effortless and cool. Playing some of Parker's more obscure compositions like "Cheryl," "Drifting on a Reed," and "Bird Feathers," the group of Michael Marcus, Sonny Simmons, and drummers Clifford Barbaro and Jay Rosen (on "Avant-Garde Destruct") also contributes originals like the quick shock of "Intoxicating Galaxies," the bop pops of "49th Street Stomp," and the ambitious "Avant-Garde Destruct."

The celebration on Reeds & Birds is very much in the bop tradition of syncopated beats, quick actions, and, above all, well-executed solos. Surprisingly for such a spirited group, the opening moments of the album are somewhat conservative, and it is not until the group gets to "49th Street Stomp" that we get a better approximation of the daring spirit shared by Bird and the Cosmosamatics. The tune could easily be confused as a lost Parker/Gillespie piece, with its seamless marriage of impressive technique and good taste. Drummer Barbaro's hefty backbeat permeates the song, with Marcus and Simmons emphasizing their knowledge of bop and its relevance to free jazz.

The effective, languid medley of "Autumn in New York" and "In a Sentimental Mood" finds Simmons singing baritone on "Autumn" and Marcus playing solo clarinet on "Sentimental." Though the sound quality of Simmons' voice is suprising at first, his mournful delivery pairs well with the equally somber clarinet lines by Marcus. "Bird Feathers" and a second take of "Cheryl" are done with more panache and more unabashed freedom, sounding more Cosmosamatic-like than the album's first three offerings. The concluding piece, a 24-minute "Avant-Garde Destruct," flows with the same creative surge, its extended length offering us a more detailed view of the group's rhythmic and melodic possibilities.

Let's say you love Charlie Parker and you dig bop, but you're unsure about getting mixed up with a weird-sounding band like the Cosmosamatics. Dispel your fears, fraidy cats! Fact is, if you dig Bird, Reeds & Birds is a natural extension of his music and a worthy tribute to his legacy.

Track Listing

Intoxicating Galaxies; Cheryl; Drifting on a Reed; 49th Street Stomp; Autumn in New York/In a Sentimental Mood; Bird Feathers; Cheryl; Avant Garde Destruct.

Personnel

Sonny Simmons: alto sax, English horn, vocals; Michael Marcus: tenor sax, saxello, Bb clarinet; Clifford Barbaro, Jay Rosen: drums.

Album information

Title: Reeds & Birds | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Not Two Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.