Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band: What Is?

Although the music of New York-based bandleader and arranger Russ Anixter may leave the average listener bemused and scratching his or her head, even the more perplexed among them would have to concede that Anixter has his personal North Star, and that he and the eleven-member Hippie Big Band follow it to the letter. Having grown up in San Francisco in the 1960s, Anixter was irresistibly drawn to bands such as The Grateful Dead, Santana and others who made improvisation and blues an essential part of their repertoire.

Those early influences remain strong and are readily apparent on the band's debut recording, What Is?, which encompasses heavy-duty themes by Tower of Power, Little Feat, Van Morrison, Freddie King, Gregg Allman, Joni Mitchell, the aforementioned Grateful Dead, and even an excerpt from the score of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. As if to show that its allegiance extends beyond the sphere of rock and blues, the band closes with the main theme from the television series "The Green Hornet," written by the celebrated jazz composer Billy May.

The brass-laden band is well-suited to Anixter's impactful charts, whose emphasis is on back-beat-heavy rhythms and muscular ensemble work. And while improvisation is employed on most numbers, it is generally acceptable but no more than that, even as it pertains to the ensemble's guest artists, slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein and guitarist Oz Noy. But as it was with Anixter's role models from the 60s, ad-libbing is not the main point but more a peripheral imperative to broaden the music's appeal.

While many if not all of the songs on What Is? may be familiar to fans of '60s rock and blues, Anixter has dressed them up nicely to suit a contemporary jazz format, which some may find pleasing, others less so. In either case, Anixter and the Hippie Big Band have achieved their purpose. It is up to the listener to decide whether the outcome is admirable, tiresome or somewhere in between.