Customer Reviews

Ponga

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

 

 

OK, this may not be fair... but I'm buying the CD right now because I saw Ponga live yesterday at the Saalfelden Jazz Festival, in Austria. They played a great mix, and had excellent energy and jammed really well together. Generally songs would start out pretty loose, with maybe only a beat, or unique sounds. Then one of the band members would take it and build on it, and the others would jam, building really complex rhythems and compositions. It may not be for you if you prefer mellow, defined, "easy" Jazz... but if you like pieces which crawl around, and thrash, and whisper and spit, exploding and surprising... then I would recommend Ponga.

When listening to the album, think about this: all material is improvised. They get up on stage (Wayne Horvitz-Keys, Dave Palmer-Keys, Bobby Previte-Drums, Skerik-Sax&Samples) and play whatever they feel like. The album was selected from 15 hours of material, and their import Psychological is just as good as this one. If u love it (and U really should!!), try getting a hold of some of their other sets, they're just as good.
Anyone that likes Horvitz's work, Zorn, Critters BUggin or Greyboy Allstars should snap this one up.
BUY IT NOW!!!

First off, I am a bass-player and the fact that no bass-player was present on this session took a bit to get used to. I have become accustomed to Brad Houser on the bass but somehow Dave Palmer and Wayne Horvitz can cover the organ/piano duties equally well without losing the feel. It starts off a bit like electronic music but gets more organic later on. Skerik is brilliant as usual (like he is with the Critters Buggin) and suggest you try this one on for size. If you do like this and want to delve a bit deeper, try Critters Buggin (Host, Guest, Bumpa). Also try Stanton Moore's "All Kooked Out" if you prefer something a bit more acid-jazz, less noise. All in all a good purchase and worth the 14 bucks.