Customer Reviews

Solid Sender

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When it comes to nasty, noisy jazz, it's not a success unless it seriously offends a number of listeners. This cd will certainly succeed there - you'll either be delighted or disgusted.

There are a few remarkable things about this band. Their rhythm section can crank out some seriously nasty funky grooves, and some high energy rock beats. Plus, Bernstein's arrangements do a great job of balancing dynamics and tempos - for example, on their cover of "For What It's Worth" (stop hey what's that sound), the band moves between hushed, pained statements of the melody to full-out slow thrashing and screeching. And the horns shine - both in the quieter portions and in the shrill, extreme noise parts of the cd.

I saw a short concert by the band at a music festival (short because a fire alarm went off after 25 minutes - however, they were blasting at full volume at the time, and it took everyone a minute or two to register what was going on), and thought that their first cd didn't live up to the inventiveness and intensity I'd seen in that show.

Well, I can't make the same complaint about Solid Sender. The rhythm section gets a chance to really rock out on numbers like Rear View and Don't Be Cruel. The horns range from soulful to thoughtful to murderous. The cover of James Brown's Please Please Please is amazingly intense. They're just all over the map, and manage to exhibit intensity and intelligence and humor all the way through. Guest appearances by a dj doing some scratching, some string players, and some occasional studio effects, help keep the sound diverse and interesting.

Sex Mob is, through and through, a live band. I read that they have never rehearsed, but only learn the songs in front of the audience (and I can vouch that I indeed have seen them learning some songs that were later on the album). The point of this is, of course, that they know how to bring down the house, which they do admirably on this album. Tony Scheer, the bassist, sounds fantastic, and the addition of strings, scratches, little children, etc. is also pretty cool. More useful than anything else I could say about this music is just that it feels really good. It makes you want to dance. My only regret is that we don't get to hear Briggan Krauss stretch out as much as we could. This album is without a doubt worth buying.

Solid Sender is Sex Mob's follow up to their brilliant debut - Din of Inequity. For the uninitiated, Sex Mob is Steven Bernstein's zany downtown cover band. A free wheeling jazz quartet that has a predilection for covering pop songs, both past and present. Bernstein was also the trumpeter and musical director of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards. You can see here how both artists aesthetic sensibilities and musical sense of humor cross common paths. The final Lounge Lizards album featured a piece where all the "lizards" were yelling in unison, and here Bernstein uses a children's choir on one track.

The core group consists of band leader Steven on slide trumpet, alto sax shredder Briggan Krauss, drummer Kenny Wollesen and upright bassist Tony Scherr. Considering this is supposed to be Steven's foray into "sexy" music, there are lots of screaming horn lines accompanied by a steady back beat. This straight up rhythm section approach allows an easy pathway towards the interpretation of pop and rock song covers.

The group's first album found the quartet joined by a few guest guitarists, and some hammond organ jamming ( courtesy of MMW's John Medeski ). Except for two guest appearances by DJ Logic, the group has mostly forsaken electric instruments this time around for the occasional company of strings. Logic's contribution to the title track however is stunning and is sorely missed on the rest of the album. Imagine a sort of down home dixieland stomp spiced up with madly scratched turntables.

As for the pieces themselves, there are covers of Nirvana - About a Girl, AABA - Fernando, and Elvis - Don't be Cruel. There are a few others including Ellington's - Mooch and the Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday. All these cover tunes are uniquely conceived and arranged. The Elvis piece is almost unrecognizable in it's edgy deconstruction. The Nirvana tune starts out as a snappy New Orleans shuffle that devolves into a thunderous blow-out, one that eclipses even the original tunes' climax. Fernando is given a treatment that segues from somber introspective free jazz to anthemic riffing. And the Stones classic starts off somber and elegant, but gradually picks up it's stride for a raucous burn out , only to be ended in dub like fashion.

The originals are mostly in standard stomp and grind mode with the thick, fat bass lines and steadfast drum beat providing a rock-solid backdrop for Bernstein's slurred yowls and Krauss' Zorn-like peals and squeals.

Overall this is one rockin' affair, definitely not your father's jazz. Even the production values on this disc are set to rock music standards, heavy on the bass and volume.

My only complaint is the inclusion of some short noisy segue pieces, the "Human Bidet" series, parts one through five, that crop up intermittently between full length tracks. They come off as needless filler. But otherwise, this is one solid effort. He he. Sorry, just had to do that.

But seriously folks, this is a perfect entry point for listeners curious about the downtown jazz scene, but who were unsure where to start. As for the converted, let's just say this has got all the gusto and vigor with none of the meandering squeaky door noodling all too commonly found in this sort of affair.

I only review things I really like. So here's Solid Sender.

I doubt if it's helpful to try to label this music. Here's my advice. Try not to listen too hard. Don't make it into work. Let this CD sneak up on you.

Like so.

Imagine a summer night. In an open slow moving car, you are cruising a street of Memphis clubs, passing open doors. Atonal arhythmic horn squawkssomeone tuning up, maybegive way to loosely disciplined drum and bass lines from the club next door. Still you hear those raggedy horns. Further up the street you hear bits and pieces of...something. You sniff a melody you might have heard before. ...but,...maybe not. You round a corner.

WHAM! you're slapped up straight by a Salvation Army Band...playing...wait...a burlie-Q version of...for a minute or three they ride a salacious and juicy groove...I know that song! But someone holds a note just a millisecond too long, slurring the rhythm. The other horns are knocked off the wagon. Well, its been a long night for the band, and hey, they're tired, but oops, now the whole thing is falling apart. Now what we're listening to is a drunk and tired Salvation Army band playing burlie-Q.

But, wait! Hear that? Underneath it all is a throbbing sound. From a low-rider coming up the street, the bass player (hanging with the drummer til now) steps out with a snatch of melodyit's just a reminder, dont you know? but it's as if he's thrown those rowdy horns a rope andOh sweet redemption!he tows them back to virtue!

You loop the block. You cant pick the club you want, so you loop again. And again. Half a dozen times you recognize something you know, played just as surely it was never meant to be. Dissonance scritches your spine, but the next minute you're laughing out loud at the pure joy of recognition and the audacity of being alive.

The whole funky scene is just too much. We don't need a club. We'll cruise, we'll catch a couple lines here, a scritch and a scratch there, pick up and lose bits of jazz and gospel and funk and rock and hip hop, and blur them all into a summer night.

I came to this music by way of Tom Waits, to John Lurie and Marvin Pontiac, to Steve Bernstein, to Sex Mob. That's not to say that if you like those guys you will like Sex Mob, nor is it to say that if you don't like them you won't like Sex Mob. It's just telling you how I got here.

Delia says this music is like fingernails on a blackboard. I try not to comment on her pedestrian tastes, but I listen when shes not around. Better yet, I program this music not to come on until the party gets really loud. After a while peoplewho werent really listening til the groove suddenly jumped up and bit themcome running over saying WHOWHATWAS THAT!?

"Well," I smug, "it's pure noisy raucous fun by stone musicians who don't play genres. They just play." (And, they mix and match and transition everything. They know just what theyre doing. But still, let's give thanks to the drummer for holding the raggedy thing together.)

Amazon is going to ask you if this review was helpful. It's the wrong question. I want to pique your interest. Give this music a try. It's outrageous and it's fun. (And your friend/spouse/lover/mother may just hate it.)

If you're a fan of jazz, r&b, soul or not, this album is an ABSOLUTE MUST. They are the masters; I bow down in humble appreciation to their God given talents. If you have any doubts, listen to "About A Girl" in the free downloads section.

Refreshing alternative to Jazz. I was downloading free clips and heard your "About A Girl", it's awesome!

Please come to Seattle

..this music will make you smile uncontrollably.

give the man behind the set a listen. a sort of unsung genius in the world of modern jazz. and never gets enough credit. well, i praise you kenny. you are one of my favorites. and the cd, as another reviewer said, doesn't have a dull moment. bravo!

Avant-Jazz bar band in the world! If they can make me actually get some joy out of Abba (visceral music, at best) then Lord only knows what's in store for the future.

Refreshing alternative to Jazz. I was downloading free clips and heard your "About A Girl", it's awesome!

Please come to Seattle