Open Web Player
Overview:
Norwegian Band, Jaga Jazzist is probably the premier band when it comes to combining jazz and electronica. They have a progressive big jazz band sort of sound, while at the same time sounding like a postmodern surreal electronica outfit. This largely due to the wide variety of instruments each of the musicians can play. At times you can here things that remind you of Stereolab, Jean-Michel Jarre,Al DiMeola, Opsvik and Jennings, and even classical composer Shostakovich. Overall the sound is more electronica than jazz. There aren't really a whole lot of solos, but there is some nice horn play and the synthesizer, electric keyboard and organ play is out of this world. "One Arm Bandit" is as good as the other two Jaga Jazzist CDs I own ("A Living Room Hush", and "the Stix"). Probably overall this is their best CD as every track is strong (no weak links here). In this CD there is some slide guitar, which I love and don't remember hearing in previous Jaga Jazzist CDs.
Here is a brief/incomplete summary of the band and instruments:
Andrea Mjos: vibraphone, guitar, Korg MS10, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Crotales and percussion
Martin Horntveth: Drums, Drum machines, percussion & more
Lars Horntveth: guitars, clarinet, bass clarinet, Saxes, flutes, keyboards, steal guitar, & more
Line Horntveth: tuba, flute, glockenspiel, & more
Stian Westerhus, electric guitar, and other guitars
Even Ormestad: bass, keyboards, percussion
Mathias Eick, trumpet, bass, keyboards, piano, French horn
Erik Johannessen: trombone, Marxophone
Oystein Moen, synthesizers, piano, percussion
Song Highlights:
220 V/Spektral - This song opens with a duet on piano and keyboard. The keyboard line is a killer, catchy bubbly line. After a little bit a bass synth line comes in, and then a flute melody. The mood and rhythm than shifts to a new section that's more upbeat and there is a real nice reedy, airy sax melody, and then the rocking starts with a killer synth line followed by crashing reverberating guitar chords. This is one of Jaga Jazzist's best songs of all time.
One Arm Bandit - The title track opens with a keyboard line that sounds like something off of a Bonobo album, then the horns come in and you know its Jaga Jazzist. After a blistering start at the 1:30 minute mark everything fades away into a nice slide guitar section, then a cool keyboard line comes back in and it builds up again. At the 3:00 minute mark you understand the naming of the album as this majestic onslaught of synth sounds come in that will make you think you just got teleported to a slot machine filled room in Vegas.
Bananfluer Overalt - This tune reminds me of Al Dimeola and Jean-Michel Jarre. It sort of has a modern techno Egyptian feel to it. I can't help but think of DiMeola's "Alien Chase On Arabian Desert".
Toccata - This tune has almost a modern classical feel to it. It opens with two keyboards locked into different repetitive cycles. After a while a bassy synth line comes in that sounds very Shostakovich to me. Towards the end there are a lot of horns, which work really well.
Touch of Evil - This song opens with the sounds of a helicopter, then a bad a$$ dark, dark, bass line. Over the top of that is some really sad higher up synth melodies. In the middle of the song there is killer attacking electric guitar line. This song is very grandiose. Perhaps an anti war song??
Top reviews from other countries
R. Stevenson
Frank Zappa's reincarnated Norwegian band...?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2010
