Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tom Chang: Tongue and Groove

11

Tom Chang: Tongue and Groove

By

View read count
Tom Chang: Tongue and Groove
It's a natural extension of New York guitarist Tom Chang's repertoire to combine heavy metal with jazz improvisation in "Spinal Tap/Goes to 11" the opening track of his release Tongue and Groove. Born in South Korea, he moved to Canada with formative teen years listening to rock icons like Joni Mitchell and Led Zeppelin. What comes as an added surprise in this noteworthy release is the fluency that Chang displays in blending not only a jazz-rock aesthetic but also a Johnny Winter meets Miles Davis blues vibe ("Bar Codes"); classical music elements with South Indian music ("Djangolongo") and free jazz ("Sleepwalker").

Chang's imposing skills are evident whether shredding notes or finessing intricate comps. His writing is elevated by some of New York City's finest jazz artists with the two horned frontline of tenor saxophonist Jason Rigby and alto Greg Ward's twisting lines and the compelling rhythmic center of bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Gerald Cleaver holding down multifaceted time signatures with their usual vigor.

Chang's tutelage in South Indian Carnatic music is showcased in the memorable title track with inspiring work from everyone and guest percussionist / vocalist T.H. Subash Chandran. It's reminiscent of works by saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and Pakistani-American guitarist Rez Abbasi and equally striking. To switch things up, the album closes with a rubato-flavored "Entangoed Heart" featuring Rigby's tenor explorations, Lightcap's sinewy bass and Cleaver's explosive kit as Chang expertly adds colorful touches. An impressive debut.

Track Listing

Spinal Tap / Goes to 11; Djangolongo; Variations for Piano Op. 27; Sleepwalker; Tongue & Groove; Scatterbrain; Bar Codes; The Logos; Entangoed Heart; Spinal Tap (Tk. 2).

Personnel

Tom Chang
guitar

Tom Chang: guitar; Greg Ward: alto saxophone; Jason Rigby: tenor saxophone; Chris Lightcap: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums; Akshay Anatapadmanabhan: kanjira, mrindigam; Subash Chandran: konnakol.

Album information

Title: Tongue and Groove | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Self Produced

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.