Customer Reviews

Husky

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here it is!!.. The first coherent statement of future jazz! I am an old fart - a fan of Mingus, Miles and Kirk - and this intrigues and excites me! I just saw Skerik in a trio setting in New Orleans a few days ago and it was brilliant! This album is even better. Do Monk and Kirk make you chuckle? If so, tou will Love this.

A band that could only come out of the Seattle scene, SSTS (not to be confused with STS9) has some of the most unique instrumentation out there as well as the most diverse sound. This album ranges from MMW-ish jazz jams with wurlitzer to the inspiringly named "Go to Hell, Mr. Bush", tunes that somehow mix dixie, jazz, funk, trombones impersonating a diesel horn, Debussy-flute-riffs, into some of the most complex, entertaining, and definitely not boring music out there.

This is not "future jazz", this is where jazz has taken us to date. Maybe the phrase "ahead of it's time" also comes to mind, but it is here, and it is now. Where all the greats took us, thru the Miles years, Weather Report, etc., throw in a hint of some rock and roll, and here it is. It's a language that encompasses countries and societies, and tastes, and backrounds and all ages and genders.

Listen and forget your differences.

This is one hell of a cd. Compositions, arrangements, musicians, all are unbelievable. You have to hear this for yourself, nothing in writing can describe how fresh and creative it is.

If you don't enjoy it now, put it away and bring it back out for a listen every few months or so. Maybe it is "future" after all, at least for some.

As a casual jazz listener who doesn't know a damn thing about the genre, this album caught me off guard. Already a huge fan of Critters, at first I thought this album was an incoherent medley of two ends. Skerik's angry sax dissonance creeping over somewhat cheerful, smoothed-out rhymes.

And I thought, damn, that MP3 download option makes for some spontaneous purchases turning to regret. But then on the fourth listen both ends melded, synthesized, and fused. BAM! In the end, I'm humming parts of it at the grocery store. This is a beautiful album from start to finish, woven together with many references, much energy, and a restraint that keeps you coming back for more. And yes, your body may want to dance to at least one tune on the album.

For $8.99 the MP3 album is a bargain and the recording quality is perfect on normal speakers.

Skerik's name is atop this set of dirty, funky jazz. He doesn't write any of the songs (except for getting part-credit for a jam at the end). The album starts a little slow, but picks up. The songs have a lot of starts & stops, instruments dropping out, different people soloing. It all seems a little chaotic in a good way, there's a lot of spirit coming out of the speakers. I can't pick out who is playing what too well, but songwriting-wise, Hans Teuber's songs are especially strong. This is a good CD jazz-wise, or even if you have one foot planted in jam-band territory, this is a good CD to nudge you into jazz listening.

Musically speaking, this is a great CD. It's hard for me to enjoy it with a title like "Go to hell Mr. Bush". Proves that musicians are stupid and should just stick to the music. Sorry.